Laura's Review - Larry's Party

Larry's Party
Carol Shields
339 pages

Larry Weller is an average guy who moved from young adulthood to middle age in a pretty average way. He received a diploma in floral design, choosing the profession more by accident than by choice, and moved "up the ladder" in a small floral chain store. On his honeymoon he became fascinated with garden maze design, and made this the cornerstone of his career. He struggled to form meaningful adult relationships with parents, siblings, and women. But as Larry moved from this twenties through his thirties and forties, he matured, "found himself," and made peace with key figures in his life.

Reading Larry's Party is like watching selected scenes from a movie. Each chapter covers a short time in Larry's life and is self-contained, almost like a short story. Shields provides details as if previous chapters had not been written; for example, well into the book she described Larry's parents, and his education, even though earlier chapters covered these aspects of his life in detail. At the beginning of the book, Larry is in his late twenties; by the end, he is 47 -- the same age as I am now. I could relate to Larry's journey through adulthood, and think this book may be more enjoyable for older audience. ( )

My original review can be found here.

Laura's Review - A Crime in the Neighborhood

A Crime in the Neighborhood
Suzanne Berne
285 pages

One summer evening in 1972, a young boy was brutally murdered behind a suburban shopping mall. His death sent shock waves through the neighborhood; this crime was unprecedented. The murder and related events are retold by Marsha, a 10-year-old girl. She becomes a bit obsessed with the murder and imagines herself a private investigator, collecting "evidence" in a notebook. But at the same time, Marsha's own life has been turned upside-down by dysfunctional family relationships. The reader quickly realizes Marsha may not have a firm grasp of the situation.

In fact, over the course of the novel several "crimes" are committed: husband-wife betrayal, deceit between siblings, squabbles and mistrust between neighbors. Some are incidental; others have significant after-effects. Suddenly it becomes clear that solving the murder is not the point of this Orange Prize-winning novel. It starts out as a mystery, but ends with insights on a deeper crime: man's inhumanity to man. Recommended. ( )

My original review can be found here.

Laura's Review - The Girls

The Girls
Lori Lansens
343 pages

Rose and Ruby, "the girls" in this novel, are conjoined twins. In fact, at 29, they are the oldest surviving craniopagus twins (joined at the head). Raised by Aunt Lovey and Uncle Stash, they now live independently and work at the town library. Rose, the more intellectual and bookish of the two, sets out to write their life story. She asks Ruby to contribute her own writings. The result is The Girls, a story that is both enlightening and touching.

Rose and Ruby have overcome a myriad of physical challenges just to live life day-to-day, and are faced with numerous medical issues. They can only view each other through mirrors. This means that although they have spent every moment of their lives together, their experiences and observations are sometimes vastly different. They have also kept secrets from each other. There is a scene where one twin observes a situation she knows will greatly disturb the other twin (who cannot see the situation herself). This is revealed in the novel but, because the twins do not share their chapters with each other, only the reader knows the full story.

Lori Lansens does a brilliant job of describing the significant challenges faced by conjoined twins, while also portraying the twins as everyday people possessed of typical emotions, ambition, and dreams. I also appreciated Lansens' technique of intertwining the twins' stories, revealing different aspects through each girl and allowing the reader to form the full picture of their lives. All in all, quite a thought-provoking read. ( )

My original review can be found here.

My Orange July Reading List

July 1 is just a few days away, and I have many wonderful books to choose for Orange July - a personal challenge to read at least one book that has been nominated for or won the Orange Prize. This is the second annual Orange July, and it's taken off like wildfire. I am so excited! I hope you'll consider joining us Orange Lovers for a great month of reading.


My Orange Books

WINNERS:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (1997)
Larry's Party by Carol Shields (1998)

SHORT LIST:
I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendelsohn (1997)
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (2002)
The Accidental by Ali Smith (2006)

LONG LIST:
La Cucina by Lily Prior (2002)
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (2003)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (2004)
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn (2007)
American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2009)

I will be starting with The Namesake, and we'll see what happens after that. Though it's not required, if you do write a review about an Orange July book, please consider leaving a copy of your review on the Orange Prize Project blog so others can view it.


Twitter Users

Please use the hashtag #orangejuly if you tweet about Orange July.



Enjoy your Orange July!

INTRODUCTION

Hi everyone,
Thought I would introduce myself. My name is Sherrie. I have a blog called
Just Books that I review books I've read, participate in reading challenges and a few other things. I am always looking for good books to read. I happened to stumble onto The Orange Prize Project while out hopping around blog land. I am so glad I found this. I have already read several books from the list posted here. I am going to put the books I have already read and a link back to that review.

SHORT LIST
Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood 1997 "F"
The Concise Chinese-English Dictionary For Lovers - Xiadu Gue 2007 "F"
How I Live Now - Meg Rosoff 2005 "F"

LONG LIST
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk 2002 "F"
Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 2003 "F"

I am looking forward to reading lots of great books here!

Award for New Writers - Winners and Short Lists: 2005- Present

About This Award:

The Orange Broadband Award for New Writers is open to all first works of fiction written by women of any age or nationality and published in the UK between 1 April of the year before the prize is awarded and 31 March of the year in which the prize is awarded. Emphasis is on potential and emerging talent.

Short story collections and novellas are also eligible.

2009

An Equal Stillness, by Francesca Kay - WINNER
Miles From Nowhere, by Nami Mun
The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, by Ann Weisgarber

2008

Inglorious, by Joanna Kavenna - WINNER
The Monsters of Templeton, by Lauren Groff
The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam, by Lauren Liebenberg

2007

The Lizard Cage, by Karen Connelly - WINNER
Poppy Shakespeare, by Clare Allan
Bitter Sweets, by Roopa Farooki

2006

Disobedience, by Naomi Alderman - WINNER
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, by Yiyun Li
The Dream Life of Sukhanov, by Olga Grushin

2005

26a, by Diana Evans - WINNER
Lucky Girls, by Nell Freudenberger
How I Live Now, by Meg Rosoff

Orange Prize Fiction Winners and Shortlists: 1996 to the Present

About This Award:

The Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction is awarded to women of any nationality who have written the best, eligible full-length novel in English. Eligible works must have been
published for the first time in the United Kingdom between 1 April of the year before the prize is awarded and 31 March of the year in which the prize is awarded.

Translations of books originally written in other languages are not eligible for the prize.

2009

Home, by Marilynne Robinson - WINNER
Scottsboro, by Ellen Feldman
The Wilderness, by Samantha Harvey
The Invention of Everything Else, by Samantha Hunt
Molly Fox’s Birthday, by Deirdre Madden
Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie

2008

The Road Home, by Rose Tremain - WINNER
Fault Lines, by Nancy Huston
The Outcast, by Sadie Jones
When We Were Bad, by Charlotte Mendelson
Lullabies for Little Criminals, by Heather O'Neill
Lottery, by Patricia Wood

2007

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - WINNER
Arlington Park, by Rachel Cusk
The Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai
A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, by Xiaolu Guo
The Observations, by Jane Harris
Digging to America, by Anne Tyler

2006

On Beauty, by Zadie Smith - WINNER
The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss
Beyond Black, by Hilary Mantel
The Accidental, by Ali Smith
Everyman's Rules for Scientific Living, by Carrie Tiffany
The Night Watch, by Sarah Waters

2005

We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver - WINNER
Old Filth, by Jane Gardam
The Mammoth Cheese, by Sheri Holman
Liars and Saints, by Maile Meloy
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, by Marina Lewycka

2004

Small Island, by Andrea Levy - WINNER
Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood
The Great Fire, by Shirley Hazzard
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Ice Road, by Gillian Slovo
The Colour, by Rose Tremain

2003

Property, by Valerie Martin - WINNER
Buddha Da, by Anne Donovan
Heligoland, by Shena Mackay
Unless, by Carol Shields
The Autograph Man, by Zadie Smith
The Little Friend, by Donna Tartt

2002

Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett- WINNER
No Bones, by Anna Burns
The Siege, by Helen Dunmore
The White Family, by Maggie Gee
A Child's Book of True Crime, by Chloe Hooper
Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters

2001

The Idea of Perfection, by Kate Grenville - WINNER
The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood
Fred & Edie, by Jill Dawson
Hotel World, by Ali Smith
Homestead, by Rosina Lippi
Horse Heaven, by Jane Smiley

2000

When I Lived in Modern Times, by Linda Grant - WINNER
If I Told You Once, by Judy Budnitz
Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
The Dancers Dancing, by Eilis Ni Dhuibhne
White Teeth, by Zadie Smith

1999

A Crime in the Neighborhood, by Suzanne Berne - WINNER
The Short History of a Prince, by Jane Hamilton
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Paradise, by Toni Morrison
The Leper's Companions, by Julia Blackburn
Visible Worlds, by Marilyn Bowering

1998

Larry's Party, by Carol Shield - WINNER
Lives of the Monster Dogs, by Kirsten Bakis
The Ventriloquist's Tale, by Pauline Melville
The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett
Love Like Hate Adore, by Deirdre Purcell
The Weight of Water, by Anita Shreve

1997

Fugitive Pieces, by Anne Michaels - WINNER
Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood
One by One in the Darkness, by Deirdre Madden
Accordion Crimes, by E. Annie Proulx
Hen's Teeth, by Manda Scott
I Was Amelia Earhart, by Jane Mendelsohn

1996

A Spell of Winter, by Helen Dunmore - WINNER
The Book of Colour, by Julia Blackburn
Spinsters, by Pagan Kennedy
The Hundred Secret Senses, by Amy Tan
Ladder of Years, by Anne Tyler
Eveless Eden, by Marianne Wiggins