The Orange Juice

Posted on | June 9, 2010 | 21 Comments

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (published by Faber) has won the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction. Have you read it? I have a copy on hand to read but haven’t managed to yet; truth be told, I was uninspired by the shortlist this year and some of the remaining longlisted titles were calling to me louder than any of those that made the cut. I started off with enthusiasm -if some bemusement- when the longlist was announced and intended to read as many as I could but it wasn’t to be and I soon lost interest; I was supposed to attend the Orange shortlist readings last night but decided to stay home instead as none of the titles really appealed as much as a bottle of wine and a DVD did… Congratulations to Barbara Kingsolver nonetheless and one of these days I will read the winning novel along with The Poisonwood Bible that has been languishing on the shelf for years.

Commiserations to Evie Wyld who lost out in the Award for New Writers; I haven’t read the winning The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini but if it is of equal or higher calibre to After the Fire, A Still Small Voice then it is one to add to the to-be-read pile (which also includes the third nominated title, The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale).

There you have it, the oranges have been squeezed and pulped for this year.

Comments

21 Responses to “The Orange Juice”

stujallen
June 9th, 2010 @ 8:01 pm

i m pleased lacuna won ,wolf hall win just wouldn’t have been right ,the shrotlist was very uninspiring ,all the best stu
Jackie (Farm Lane Books)
June 9th, 2010 @ 8:05 pm

It is a sad state of affairs when a bottle of wine and a DVD appeal more than a bookish event. I think that just proves the disappointing nature of the short list this year. There are some real gems on the long list – I hope that you find them
Laura
June 9th, 2010 @ 8:09 pm

Oh dear, oh dear … I really wanted to read the 2010 winner for Orange July but was put off by its length and Jackie’s recent review. Then I read another fabulous review (and I’m sure if I look harder I’ll find lots of mixed opinions). Still trying to decide whether to request it from my library …
vivienne
June 9th, 2010 @ 8:43 pm

I keep picking this one up and putting it back. Now I feel I should read it!
Steph
June 9th, 2010 @ 8:51 pm

I would have chosen the wine and DVD too! I was so underwhelmed by the shortlist this year that I couldn’t wait for this to be announced so we can all move on! I haven’t read any Kingsolver, but based on the mixed reviews I’ve read of this one, I doubt this is where I’ll start.
JoAnn
June 9th, 2010 @ 9:24 pm

I’ve enjoyed several of Kingsolver’s books (Prodigal Summer is my favorite), but have been put off by the many negative reviews of this one. Have any bloggers liked it?
The wine and DVD would have appealed more to me, too!
Amy @ My Friend Amy
June 9th, 2010 @ 9:46 pm

I haven’t read this yet…most people seemed not to like it very much, but I’m still holding out some hope!
Paperback Reader
June 9th, 2010 @ 9:49 pm

Stu, Wolf Hall is the only one I have read from the shortlist so far but it would been the boring, predictable winner.

Jackie, a sad day indeed! It was a good night though, just me and the wine. Now that the Orange is over I want to slowly enjoy those from the longlist that appealed to begin with without the pressure of the award deadline.

Laura, I’m neither here nor there about it but will read it to make up my own mind; lots of other tempting books to read before that though!

Vivienne, I look forward to your thoughts if and when you do!

Steph, the prize overall has left me feeling somewhat deflated and, like you, I’m looking forward to moving on! Being bored with it so early on was not a good start.

JoAnn, not as far as I am aware but then I’m not on top of my blog reading. Prodigal Summer is a Kingsolver that I must keep in mind for the future.
I’m glad I’m not alone in my attraction to wine and DVDs instead of the event!
mee
June 10th, 2010 @ 12:02 am

I’m deflated. I don’t think I’m going to read Lacuna. I do however have Poisonwood Bible at home (also been there for years) and hope to read that one of these days.
Jenny
June 10th, 2010 @ 12:29 am

I’m not wild about Barbara Kingsolver overall, but The Poisonwood Bible is a damn good book. That book pulls off the multiple narrators thing better than any other book I can think of.
Becky (Page Turners)
June 10th, 2010 @ 12:34 am

The Lacuna was the first book of 2010 that I read and I absolutely loved it, couldn’t put it down. I rated it with almost full marks!

Here is my review if it helps
http://pageturnersbooks.blogspot.com/2010/01/lacuna-by-barbara-kingsolver.html

But I definitely recommend this one to you!
nomadreader (Carrie)
June 10th, 2010 @ 1:54 am

I read it and was underwhelmed. I like the idea of the novel so much more than its execution. It wasn’t my least favorite on the shortlist (that was A Gate at the Stairs), but I am quite disappointed by the result (I was pulling for The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and Black Water Rising). I thought of abandoning The Lacuna several times, and I am glad I finished it, but there’s simply no way it was the best book written by a woman in English last year.
Chris
June 10th, 2010 @ 2:13 am

Oh good for her for winning! I haven’t read this yet. But I’ve been dying to read some of Kinsolver’s fiction. I just read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it was so good. I’ve heard that the shortlist was pretty disappointing this year :/ Didn’t follow the prize that much this year though…
Verity
June 10th, 2010 @ 8:37 am

Yes, I think I shall have to read it now. Hope I enjoy it as much as Posionwood.
Buried In Print
June 10th, 2010 @ 4:04 pm

I think all the chatter about this year’s list being disappointing has taken a lot of the fun out of this year’s list, and what a shame because I think a lot of the people chattering along those lines haven’t read the books, and are mixing up the questions of whether they’ve liked a book with whether it’s a well-written book.

I’m sorry it’s deterred you from more fully enjoying the good books that were considered for this year’s prize but I am sure you’ll enjoy them all the same, post-prize season and at your leisure.

The Lacuna wasn’t my personal favourite of Kingsolver’s novels, but it’s a fine novel and a very rewarding read. A lacuna is a gap, and I think leaving some of those would be helpful in reading this book: it’s not a novel to rush through.
anothercookiecrumbles
June 10th, 2010 @ 7:52 pm

I’ve not read The Lacuna (nor have I read The Poisonwood Bible). Guessing I’ll read it someday soon, along with Wolf Hall. Not very inclined to read either at the moment, to be honest…
Jodie
June 10th, 2010 @ 8:48 pm

Oh you didn’t get to the reading in the end then? Ah well if it was raining as hard your way as it was ours I don’t blame you.

I’m not unhappy that The Lacuna won, although I still say Wolf Hall is better but of course my personal shortlist would have been much different (ha wouldn’t everyones?). I still think as lots of others do that the abscence of The Little Stranger from the shortlist was a travesty (bangs her drink down loudly in the manner of a football fan debating a bad penalty call).
Stephanie
June 10th, 2010 @ 9:29 pm

I have a copy too but, like you, I have failed to read it yet. So far, I have not had the urge!
Paperback Reader
June 12th, 2010 @ 3:20 pm

mee, deflated accurately describes how I feel. Not having read the shortlist (excluding Wolf Hall, which was read last year), I suspect that the judges opted for the safe choice.

Jenny, I will read The Poisonwood Bible one of these days; I’ve wanted to for some time but, as is my wont, have been distracted by other books.

Becky, it’s lovely to hear such an enthusiastic endorsement for the book – you must be thrilled that it won!

Hi Carrie, thank you for commenting on my blog for the first time. The response to The Lacuna winning does seem to be, for the most part, lacklustre.

Chris, Kingsolver herself seems to be a popular winner even if the book isn’t; she comes across as a lovely and humble writer.

Verity, I look forward to your thoughts as always!

Buried in Print, I’m sorry if I contributed to the -perhaps reductive- chat about the prize being disappointing this year. I think my uninspired reaction goes a long way to explaining my reluctance to pick up the book any time soon but I will leave a gap -a lacuna- and attempt it at some point, as I may the others on the shortlist.

Pri, there doesn’t seem to be much enthusiasm for them, does there? Perhaps it is a matter of saturation of the blogosphere and monopoly of prizes.

Jodie, it was miserable weather! PJs and wine were far more appealing. Personally I was disappointed by The Little Stranger (and I am a Waters fan) but the shortlist let me down in other ways – we’re never content! Of course, shortlists are so subjective.

Stephanie, perhaps we’ll be inclined to read it at some point!
Buried In Print
June 14th, 2010 @ 4:41 pm

I think it’s one thing for a reader to say they’ve found a booklist (of any sort) uninspiring. That they’re just not drawn towards it right now. Which seems, to me, to suggest that any number of factors are playing into things (perhaps some on the reader’s part, perhaps some on the writers’ parts: both).

And quite another thing for readers to suggest that the books on a list don’t deserve to be there if they haven’t read them. That the list is flawed in a vague, unspecified way. Which seems to suggest that the only relevant fact is that the writers have fallen short of a mark, but that the readers can’t even bother to participate, only judge.

Your commentary on the prize, and in general, leaves room for readerly responsibility, and consistently acknowledges the subjectivity that permeates our reading experiences; I’ve enjoyed what you’ve had to say. Apologies for having been unclear in my comment above.
Alice
July 7th, 2010 @ 5:46 am

I just finished this a few days ago and did not like it at all. The Orange Prize isn’t one of my most respected, but this win drops it down a notch anyway. The Lacuna was one of those blatant Witness to History novel: no single plot event can just happen without being crudely grafted onto historical events. And it’s not at all natural–these intersections are endlessly remarked upon by all of the characters. I found it very sloppy and distracting. It did have sections of gorgeous writing, but BK constantly bludgeoned me with reminders of What It All Means every few pages which makes me so irate–give the reader a bit of credit for intelligence! I hate feeling talked down to when I’m reading…