The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has unveiled its massive 2011 longlist. Recall that libraries around the world can nominate books for the prize, and these nominations, taken together, comprise the longlist. This year there are 162 novels on the list, nominated by 126 libraries in 43 countries. All of the books must have been published in English in 2009 (including translations).
Because of the award’s global reach and egalitarian process, it’s always interesting to dig deeper into the longlist. Taken as a whole, the literary proclivities of various countries become evident, and a few titles recur again and again, revealing which books have made a global impact on readers.
Overall favorites: books that were nominated by at least seven libraries.
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (14 libraries representing Canada, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States)
Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín (13 libraries representing Belgium, England, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (11 libraries representing Barbados, Hungary, Maldives, and the United States)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (10 libraries representing Australia, Canada, England, India, Italy, South Africa, and the United States)
A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore (7 libraries representing the Greece, Norway, Spain, and the United States)
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (7 libraries representing Barbados, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, and the United States)
The Blind Side of the Heart by Julia Franck (7 libraries representing Croatia, Germany, Greece, and Norway)
You can also look at the list and see which books are favorites in different countries. Several books were nominated by multiple libraries in the same country. Here’s a few:
In Canada, The Bishop’s Man by Linden MacIntyre, Galore by Michael Crummy, and The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon
In the Netherlands, Joe Speedboat by Tommy Wieringa
In Australia, Lovesong by Alex Miller
There were also several countries with only one library nominating just one or two books. Here are a few of those:
From Denmark, The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard
From Estonia, Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
From Jamaica, Inner City Girl by Colleen Smith-Dennis
From Mexico, Season of Ash by Jorge Volpi Escalante
From Trinidad and Tobego, Anna In-Between by Elizabeth Nunez
Great list!
‘Go, Went, Gone” is a wonderful book and would make a worthy winner.
Surprising to see Han Kang back in the list after killing it in 2016. I actually did read ‘The Vegetarian’ with enthusiasm but was not too impressed. Last year’s A Horse Walks into a Bar was far better. And this year, I am not sure which one to root for. I have only heard a bit about Sadaawi’s book. Hmm.