Readers and Reviewers - A Look Back At Our Favorites

Report by Vivian Mortensen
October, 2021

Ten of us met before the October luncheon and remembered some winners from the stacks of books FAW has awarded through the years. Here’s the diverse list:

ANYWHERE BUT HERE by Mona Simpson (1988). Simpson's first novel opens with its two heroines, Adele and her daughter Ann, fleeing their provincial hometown in Wisconsin for a fresh start in California. (Novelist citation) Members remember the well-defined characters, the comedy – sometimes slapstick – and the opposing sketches of Wisconsin and Beverly Hills. Members also remember the film (same title) with Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman (1999).

THE ART OF FIELDING by Chad Harbach (2012). A baseball star at a small college near Lake Michigan launches a routine throw that goes disastrously off course and inadvertently changes the lives of five people, including the college president, a gay teammate, and the president's daughter.(Novelist) Members recall the vivid Midwestern setting, the captivating plot and memorable characters.

EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng (2015 winner). "A teenage girl goes missing and is later found to have drowned in a nearby lake, and suddenly a once tight-knit family unravels in unexpected ways." (Booklist) Members like the depiction of the parents who think they know what's going on in their daughter's life only to find layers of secrets and little understanding of her inner character.

GRENDEL by John Gardner (1972). Gardner demonstrates his agility at juggling metaphysical notions while telling a diverting tale as the monster Grendel expresses his isolation and loneliness in a dark and bleak northern world. (Kirkus) A member comments that although it's a difficult read, especially for one unfamiliar with Beowulf, this is a stylistically complex and witty novel worthy of the award.

THE NIX by Nathan Hill (2017). Astonished to see the mother who abandoned him in childhood throwing rocks at a presidential candidate, a bored college professor struggles to reconcile the radical media depictions of his mother with his small-town memories and decides to draw her out by penning a tell-all biography. (Novelist) Members adore this big book chock-full of humor, pop culture and lampooning of political elections, advertising and much more.

SAMUEL JOHNSON’S ETERNAL RETURN by Martin Riker (2018 finalist). A father is killed while defending his toddler son, after which his soul inhabits the body of his killer. Fully conscious but unable to affect his host's actions, he is forced away from his son, and as he tries to return, he only finds himself ever farther away, inhabiting a series of different hosts through the decades. Members liked the author's creative plotting and raising a variety of philosophical ideas to mull over.

SEVERANCE by Ling Ma (2019). A survivor of an apocalyptic plague maintains a blog about a decimated Manhattan before joining a motley group of survivors to search for a place to rebuild, a goal that is complicated by an unscrupulous group leader. (Novelist) Members point out the timeliness of this book just prior to the covid pandemic, its use of humor, the author's style and its accessibility to complex ideas.

SHADOW DIVERS: THE TRUE ADVENTURE OF TWO AMERICANS WHO RISKED EVERYTHING TO SOLVE ONE OF THE LAST MYSTERIES OF WORLD WAR II by Robert Kurson (2005). Recounts the discovery of a sunken German U-boat by two scuba divers, tracing how they devoted the following years to researching the identities of the submarine and its crew, correcting historical texts and breaking new ground in the world of diving. (Novelist) Members like the high adventure and skill of the author to take a painstakingly slow investigation of a sunken boat and turn it into a page-turner.

STAGGERFORD by Jon Hassler (1978). Portrays the closely intertwined and often troubled lives of residents in the small town as seen through the eyes of Miles Pruitt, a much-respected high school teacher. (Novelist) Members recall the sharply drawn characters, the bureaucracy of smalltown high schools, and the humorous tone of this old fashioned read.