Literary Contemporary Run-Off • March 2015

[sun surfer]

Help us choose the March 2015 selection to read for the MR Literary Club! The run-off poll will be open for one day.

The run-off vote is single-choice. A discussion thread will begin shortly after a winner is chosen.

In the event of a tie, the tie will be resolved in favour of the selection that received all of its initial nominations first.


Select from the following works:


Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2006

Spoiler:

4.22 rating on Goodreads


From Goodreads:

In 1960s Nigeria, a country blighted by civil war, three lives intersect. Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna, a young woman, has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic new lover, the professor. And Richard, a shy English writer, is in thrall to Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the horrific Biafran War engulfs them, they are thrown together and pulled apart in ways they had never imagined.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's masterpiece, winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction, is a novel about Africa in a wider sense: about the end of colonialism, ethnic allegiances, class and race - and about the ways in which love can complicate all of these things.

The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, 2012

Spoiler:

Amazon Best Book of the Month, January 2012. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (2013). It's available at Overdrive and 3M Cloud Library in the US. Also at Amazon and Kobo globally.


From Goodreads:

An epic novel and a thrilling literary discovery, The Orphan Master’s Son follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea.

Pak Jun Do is the haunted son of a lost mother—a singer “stolen” to Pyongyang—and an influential father who runs Long Tomorrows, a work camp for orphans. There the boy is given his first taste of power, picking which orphans eat first and which will be lent out for manual labor. Recognized for his loyalty and keen instincts, Jun Do comes to the attention of superiors in the state, rises in the ranks, and starts on a road from which there will be no return.

Considering himself “a humble citizen of the greatest nation in the world,” Jun Do becomes a professional kidnapper who must navigate the shifting rules, arbitrary violence, and baffling demands of his Korean overlords in order to stay alive. Driven to the absolute limit of what any human being could endure, he boldly takes on the treacherous role of rival to Kim Jong Il in an attempt to save the woman he loves, Sun Moon, a legendary actress “so pure, she didn’t know what starving people looked like.”

Part breathless thriller, part story of innocence lost, part story of romantic love, The Orphan Master’s Son is also a riveting portrait of a world heretofore hidden from view: a North Korea rife with hunger, corruption, and casual cruelty but also camaraderie, stolen moments of beauty, and love. A towering literary achievement, The Orphan Master’s Son ushers Adam Johnson into the small group of today’s greatest writers.

The Master by Colm Tóibín, 2003

Spoiler:

It's historical fiction about a period of Henry James' life.


From Goodreads:

Like Michael Cunningham in The Hours, Colm Tóibín captures the extraordinary mind and heart of a great writer. Beautiful and profoundly moving, The Master tells the story of a man born into one of America's first intellectual families who leaves his country in the late nineteenth century to live in Paris, Rome, Venice, and London among privileged artists and writers.

In stunningly resonant prose, Tóibín captures the loneliness and the hope of a master of psychological subtlety whose forays into intimacy inevitably failed those he tried to love. The emotional intensity of this portrait is riveting.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I'm equally happy with any of these choices since they were all on my TBR list. Looking forward to this month's selection.

[Bookpossum]

I just hope that those who vote will also read and participate whichever book wins.

[HomeInMyShoes]

I am just not interested in The Master at all.

[Bookpossum]

Sorry HIMS - I have heard that it is very good indeed, and am looking forward to reading it.

[fantasyfan]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

I just hope that those who vote will also read and participate whichever book wins.

I didn't vote in any of the polls but I am certainly going to order a copy from Book Depository. Of course, I may not participate immediately but I do look forward to reading the book and sharing my thoughts.

[Bookpossum]

Oh good. To clarify, I noted that there were a couple of non-regular voters this month. If the Club had higher numbers this wouldn't be a concern if they then did not participate, but at the moment our numbers are down. I find it disappointing when people come in, vote and then don't participate, especially if their votes have skewed the final result.

Hence my hope that those who are voting will participate, as we certainly could do with more members in the Club.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Oh good. To clarify, I noted that there were a couple of non-regular voters this month. If the Club had higher numbers this wouldn't be a concern if they then did not participate, but at the moment our numbers are down. I find it disappointing when people come in, vote and then don't participate, especially if their votes have skewed the final result.

Hence my hope that those who are voting will participate, as we certainly could do with more members in the Club.

If I'm one of the people you are referring to, then yes, I plan to read whichever book wins.

Digital availability is a must for me, but since I recognize that it isn't important to the Literary Club I sit out most months and will only occasionally vote or nominate books specifically because I'm cognisant of the potential of skewing the vote due to my personal needs. Obviously Contemporary is a good category for me since digital availability is high, so I'm participating in the process this month. I also voted last month in the run-off since both options were available as ebooks for me and I'm reading the winner even though it wasn't the one I voted for.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Synamon

If I'm one of the people you are referring to, then yes, I plan to read whichever book wins.

Digital availability is a must for me, but since I recognize that it isn't important to the Literary Club I sit out most months and will only occasionally vote or nominate books specifically because I'm cognisant of the potential of skewing the vote due to my personal needs. Obviously Contemporary is a good category for me since digital availability is high, so I'm participating in the process this month. I also voted last month in the run-off since both options were available as ebooks for me and I'm reading the winner even though it wasn't the one I voted for.

Your participation is welcome! Same to Luffy! I understand how people are motivated by digital selections as well as what they can borrow from the library. Hope you enjoy the selections.

[caleb72]

Looks like I'll be loaning the audio book. Don't do it very often so I'll see how it works out. Definitely interested in the author though so I'm optimistic.

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by Synamon

If I'm one of the people you are referring to, then yes, I plan to read whichever book wins.

Digital availability is a must for me, but since I recognize that it isn't important to the Literary Club I sit out most months and will only occasionally vote or nominate books specifically because I'm cognisant of the potential of skewing the vote due to my personal needs. Obviously Contemporary is a good category for me since digital availability is high, so I'm participating in the process this month. I also voted last month in the run-off since both options were available as ebooks for me and I'm reading the winner even though it wasn't the one I voted for.

That's great Synamon - I look forward to your involvement as we do need more members. I hope Luffy joins in too.

[caleb72]

What a pain Overdrive WMA is! I was hoping to just download it to my mobile and listen to it on the way to work. Apparently Overdrive wants me to sit at my computer at home to listen to the book. #NotGoingToHappen.

[desertblues]

(back from Sri Lanka) I will be reading the book The Master

[ccowie]

Looks like a great book, but I'm disappointed that I can't find an e-version.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by caleb72

What a pain Overdrive WMA is! I was hoping to just download it to my mobile and listen to it on the way to work. Apparently Overdrive wants me to sit at my computer at home to listen to the book. #NotGoingToHappen.

I can't even do that since my computer is a Mac. With all the reading/listening apps around now it's annoying that MS never allowed development of one for WMA audiobooks. I can't wait for Overdrive to phase out WMA altogether.

Originally Posted by ccowie

Looks like a great book, but I'm disappointed that I can't find an e-version.

An e-vacation to the US with Kobo? I assume they have it since Amazon US and Nook do.

I hate giving money to Simon & Shyster because they are US centric and library antagonistic, but I'll buy the ebook on a US account so I can read it.