Play-In and Opening Rounds of TOB 2016

[Ellen]

Well, yes, but that's not exactly the tenor of the commentary. Let me know what you think after you've read it.

Myself, I read the book maybe two months ago and have not gotten any fonder of it in the interim.

[Amy]

I liked both of these books. But they were both pretty traditional narratives and so the same flaws I might forgive a more experimental contender brought their ratings down for me. Had either of these gone against one of our "quirky" entries, even The New World, my vote would be for the more daring entry. (Exception:Ban en Banlieue - I can't get behind that one!)

[Lark]

Ellen wrote: "I'm totally taken off guard by how totally out of synch I am with most of the commenters on the Rooster site. I don't even want to weigh in any more because of the -- to me -- excessive adoration o..."

Hi Ellen, i just read through the comments to understand your point. I wish people had allowed criticism of Our Souls at Night without piling on quite so hard.

But it feels almost as if the backlash about the Souls at Night criticism in the comments is all about rejecting elitism, as much as it is about defending the book itself. It's about championing the "all books are special and who am I to judge" feeling that runs deeply in TOB. And that kind of gets to the heart of the aesthetic/intellectual dilemma about how to judge the quality of literary fiction.

Our Souls at Night was a 5 star read for me. But without question it's thematically and semantically simple. It doesn't break new ground. It's easy to read quickly. It doesn't challenge the reader or make demands beyond the time it takes to read it. It could have been written any time in the last 50 years. To the extent that literary awards should be given to fiction that is challenging and new this book is a dud. The comment about "non-readers" was impolitic, but it's defensible and reasonable to say this book doesn't require someone to be a big reader in order to enjoy it.

The reason I love it, and love that it was included in TOB, is because it's actually really hard to write simply and hopefully without being sentimental. I think Haruf nailed it. It was extremely difficult for him, actually, to write this way. He threw out whole manuscripts when he discovered he was being complicated and wordy rather than telling the stories the way he wanted to tell them. It's just a lot easier to write a complicated disturbing book than a simple humane one.

Your feeling that it was Hallmark Lite is understandable too though--it sounds like for you the book fell into far-too-sentimental territory.

[Lljones]

I think the main reason ToB irregulars got on @TIM's case is that they're hungry for their beloved Rooster "literary bloodsport". And impatient for tomorrow.

Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy [day]night.

[jo]

imma throw the whole bunch of judges into the everglades. that's all i have to say about today's decisions, and other decisions so far.

[Lark]

Lljones wrote: "I think the main reason ToB irregulars got on @TIM's case is that they're hungry for their beloved Rooster "literary bloodsport". And impatient for tomorrow.

Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to b..."

Is there any reasonable way of The New World beating out ALL? I mean, that it wouldn't be a totally weird and unexpected upset, like Bats was?

[nomadreader (Carrie D-L)]

poingu wrote: "Lljones wrote: "I think the main reason ToB irregulars got on @TIM's case is that they're hungry for their beloved Rooster "literary bloodsport". And impatient for tomorrow.

Fasten your seatbelts...."

I think A Little Life could easily go down. People either love it or hate it. I haven't actually read it, but it has a lot of 1-star and 5-star ratings among my friends. Very curious to see where it goes.

[Beverly]

I have really only reading the Judge's write up.
Glance at the other commentary and never look at the comments below.

I am a believer in that every book is not for everybody and every book is for someone so I figure it is one person's decision and they bring a whole reading experience/taste with them.

I do read all of the comments on this ToB site because I like how the discussions/comments have been going and have a little understanding on what some of the members look/like in a book. And the opinions are so diverse yet information that it has helped me with my reading.

But with this bracket I have only read one of the books - Our Souls At Night which I enjoyed.

I did not read The Whites because I did not have time and the subject matter seemed like one that I have read about (fiction & NF) lately and was feeling a little "book fatigue" on the subject.

[Amy]

nomadreader (Carrie D-L) wrote: "poingu wrote: "Lljones wrote:... "I think A Little Life could easily go down. People either love it or hate it ..."

yeah, I haven't read ALL (or L'il Life for those who prefer) but people seem extreme on it and meanwhile I really enjoyed New World so I feel like it's really going to depend on the judge's taste. It's high on the zombie list if it does get knocked out though!

[jo]

Amy wrote: "nomadreader (Carrie D-L) wrote: "poingu wrote: "Lljones wrote:... "I think A Little Life could easily go down. People either love it or hate it ..."

yeah, I haven't read ALL (or L'il Life for thos..."

i'm going to go study the judge that has to decide between l'il life and new world. if i had studied the judge that knocked out f&f i would have predicted the outcome. i loved both li'l life and new world, by the way, but i think l'il life is a masterpiece.

[jo]

okay, having spent that grand total of 5 mins studying choire sicha, i conclude that there's a good chance that he'll recognize the utter fucking brilliance of li'l life.

another prediction: his fb follower count is now 373. i anticipate it'll be at least 500 by midday tomorrow.

[Lark]

jo, here is an article about tomorrow's judge from the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t...

[Amy]

jo wrote: "okay, having spent that grand total of 5 mins studying choire sicha, i conclude that there's a good chance that he'll recognize the utter fucking brilliance of li'l life.

another prediction: his ..."

I like stalking the judge's twitter feeds to try to understand their humor, values & literati-ness. :) I definitely though the F&F upset was a possibility as a result!

[jo]

poingu wrote: "jo, here is an article about tomorrow's judge from the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t..."

thank you! oh, choire sicha, please don't let the ToB upset me again!

[Amy]

poingu wrote: "jo, here is an article about tomorrow's judge from the New Yorker:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-t..."
thanks Poingu! I had forgotten he was The Awl... I have a penchant for its sister site "The Hairpin" though I'm pretty sure they're who led me astray about Villette!

and Jo, after my own 5 minutes, I agree with you.

[Trish]

I am a L'il Life hater, and even I think it should win over The New World (which I enjoyed, but think is in a completely different league any way you look at it; character development, setting, continuity, complexity, whatever-have-you).

[[deleted user]]

Trish wrote: "I am a L'il Life hater, and even I think it should win over The New World (which I enjoyed, but think is in a completely different league any way you look at it; character development, setting, con..."

Yeah, I also think that even if the judge hates a L'il Life, there's still a good chance they pick it over The New World. If I were ambivalent about both, a L'il Life would win for ambition.

[Lark]

I have to admit I like the idea of both Fates & Furies AND A Little Life losing in the first round. Rooting for the underdogs I guess.

[Amy]

That would be so exciting! But then when they revived in zombies it would emphasize your dislike for the zombie process!! Is that a win-win or a lose-lose??

[Alix]

So I've been following this group for a bit but haven't posted yet. I also did five minutes of investigation, and noticed that Choire Sicha has been a TOB judge before, back in 2005... http://www.themorningnews.org/tob/200...

I'm very much in the ALL love camp, personally, and am rooting for it of the five I've read. I have and am planning to read Tsar and the Sellout this week though - I'm not sure either will unseat ALL for me, hopefully neither is as meh I found F&F to be.

[jo]

Alix wrote: "So I've been following this group for a bit but haven't posted yet. I also did five minutes of investigation, and noticed that Choire Sicha has been a TOB judge before, back in 2005... http://www.t..."

so cool of you to find the first ToB!

so, is there anyone beside me who LURVS both ALL and T&T?

[jo]

i also think someone should could how many damn fonts the gr interface is using at this time.

[[deleted user]]

Amy wrote: "That would be so exciting! But then when they revived in zombies it would emphasize your dislike for the zombie process!! Is that a win-win or a lose-lose??"

Yes to this! C'mon GR, give us a LIKE button!

[Rachel]

Pretty happy with today's decision. I gave The Whites two tries in a row, and I just couldn't. Really with I could have squeezed in Our Souls. I'll try it if it makes quarters/zombies.

[Lark]

Amy wrote: "That would be so exciting! But then when they revived in zombies it would emphasize your dislike for the zombie process!! Is that a win-win or a lose-lose??"

I've made my peace with the zombies somehow. Maybe Nozlee's visit did it. Also I think it would be fun to read at least two wildly contradictory reviews of A Little Life--all the better if it reaches the final!

[Christina]

I would love to see David take down Goliath this morning especially since I'm pretty sure Zombie Goliath will be returning. Upsets make things more exciting. ;)

[Rachel]

Wow. I felt like the reviewer could have gone either way on that one. Glad with the decision though.

[Amy]

Decision posted to the 2nd half Opening brackets thread. We're starting fresh.