Margaret wrote: "OK, how out of it am I, apparently. I'm a pretty dedicated reader, and I keep up with reviews and new releases and so on, but I have never in my life heard of either this novel or this writer. Is it just me?..."

Margaret, I often feel that way too, but I have to admit, I find it hard to keep up with the latest releases. There are just too many. So I can't really judge. I tend to leave it to those who know more than I do. On the other hand, I have to go with what I like personally. In the end, despite the prizes, I think we each have to deal with books on our own terms and in our own way.

For me the prizes simply help to make me more aware of what's out there. They help me focus. I can ignore them if I want... and I usually do. :) But every once in a while I do try to give a nod to the prize winners.

However, I'll never understand why people would think _The Plague of Doves A Novel_ (a runner-up) was a good read. To me it was almost unreadable, but I plugged through it. It was painful. :)

Below are various negative comments by different Goodreads reviewers (including me) of _The Plague of Doves_:
====================================================
"Too non-linear, chaotic chronology, too many characters, too many storylines."

"Multiple narrators, multiple generations...
It was hard to keep the characters straight"

"difficult to follow"

"many of these chapters were published separately and the book has a disjointed feel"

"The central 'mystery' of the book wasn't played up enough."

FROM: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22275...
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There... I got that off my chest. :)

Of course there were plenty of positive comments as well by other reviewers.
I wish I could see it their way.

"The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City. Prizes are awarded yearly in twenty-one categories."

"The first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded on June 4, 1917.
They are now announced each April."

FROM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_pr...

OK, how out of it am I, apparently. I'm a pretty dedicated reader, and I keep up with reviews and new releases and so on, but I have never in my life heard of either this novel or this writer. Is it just me?
The Andrew Jackson book I do know about, which makes me feel slightly better....!

On April 20, 2009, the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winners were announced.

For fiction, the winner was:
_Olive Kitteridge A Novel in Stories_ by Elizabeth Strout.

[Finalists for fiction were:
_The Plague of Doves_ by Louise Erdrich and _All Souls_ by Christine Schutt. ]

For biography the winner was:
_American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House_ by Jon Meacham

For history the winner was:
_The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family_ by Annette Gordon-Reed.

For general nonfiction the winner was:
_Slavery by Another Name_ by Douglas A. Blackmon

LINKS TO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND FURTHER DETAILS: ====>
http://www.pulitzer.org/awards/2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/20/books/...
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/bro...