Even though it was undoubtedly the work of literary fiction that engendered the most excitement during 2008, by dint of its South American pedigree Roberto Bolaño’s 2666 wasn’t eligible for most of the English-speaking world’s literary awards. However, the National Book Critics Circle, which doesn’t place many limits on who is eligible for its annual award, saw fit to recognize the book. The full slate of winners:
- Fiction: 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (Why Bolaño Matters, excerpt)
- Poetry (two winners): Sleeping it Off in Rapid City by August Kleinzahler and Half of the World in Light by Juan Felipe Herrera
- Criticism: Children’s Literature: A Reader’s History by Seth Lerer (Lerer’s Year in Reading at The Millions)
- Biography: The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French (a Year in Reading pick)
- Autobiography: My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for His Jewish Past in Kurdish Iraq by Ariel Sabar
- Nonfiction: The Forever War by Dexter Filkins (excerpt)
