2013 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction

From: http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2013-Fiction

For distinguished fiction by an American author: 

Awarded to The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson, an exquisitely crafted novel that carries the reader on an adventuresome journey into the depths of totalitarian North Korea and into the most intimate spaces of the human heart.

 

Finalists:

Also nominated as finalists in this category were: "What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank," by Nathan Englander (Alfred A. Knopf), a diverse yet consistently masterful collection of stories that explore Jewish identity and questions of modern life in ways that can both delight and unsettle the reader; and "The Snow Child," by Eowyn Ivey (Reagan Arthur/Little, Brown), and enchanting novel about an older homesteading couple who long for a child amid the harsh wilderness of Alaska and a feral girl who emerges from the woods to bring them hope.

Niles Adult Fiction STAFF PICKS of the Best Fiction from 2011

Allison Will—Long Drive Home

Atkinson, Kate—Started Early, Took My Dog

Barclay, Linwood—The Accident

Barnes, Julian—Pulse: Stories

Benjamin, Melanie—The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb

Berg, Elizabeth—Once Upon a Time, There Was You

Bradley, Alan—A Red Herring Without Mustard

Brooks, Geraldine—Caleb’s Crossing

Brown, Eleanor—Weird Sisters 

Clowes, Daniel—Mister Wonderful: A Love Story
Craig, James—London Calling

Crais, Robert—The Sentry

Ebert, Roger—Life Itself (NF)

Eugenides, Jeffrey—The Marriage Plot

Evans, Richard Paul—Miles To Go

Fey, Tina—Bossy Pants (NF)

Frazier, Charles—Nightwoods

Garwood, Julie—The Ideal Man

Genova, Lisa—Left Neglected
Gerritsen, Tess—Silent Girl

Goldman, Francisco—Say Her Name

Goodwin, Daisy—The American Heiress

Grafton, Sue—V is for Vengeance

Grossman, Lev—The Magician King

Haigh, Jennifer—Faith

Hannah, Kristin—Night Road

Hansen, Ron—A Wild Surge of Guilty Passion

Hodkinson, Amanda—22 Britannia Road
Hoffman, Alice—Red Garden

Hurwitz, Gregg—You’re Next

Kepler, Lars—The Hypnotist 

Lowe, Rob—Stories I Only Tell My Friends

Mankell, Henning—The Troubled Man

McLain, Paula—The Paris Wife

McNeal, Tom—To Be Sung Underwater

Mitzner, Adam—Conflict of Interest

Nesbo, Jo—The Snowman
O’Nan, Stewart—Emily, Alone

Pelecanos, George—The Cut

Penny, Louise—Trick of the Light 
Rosenfelt, David—On Borrowed Time

Russell, Mary Doria—Doc

Ryan, David Jahn—Good Neighbors

Schwartz, John Burnham—Northwest Corner

See, Lisa—Dreams of Joy

Sin, Kyong-Suk—Please Look After Mom

Spelling, Elizabeth—The Return of Captain John Emmett

Sullivan, J. Courtney—Maine

Waldman, Amy—The Submission


Ward, J.R.—Lover Unleashed 
Weiner, Jennifer—Then Came You

Winspear, Jacqueline—A Lesson in Secrets

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

This one was slow starting for me. But, once I got into the “Kitteridge” groove, it was a ride I thoroughly enjoyed. I think one of the off-putting things for me was that Olive is not the most likable character. Actually, she can be quite a B$*&%& at times. But, she does have her soft side, so once you get to know her, she does grow on you. Another thing that might have initially hindered my immediate enjoyment was that Olive’s story told in a series of interconnecting short stories. I’m not a big short story reader, so I admit I might have started this one thinking…”Oh, I’m not going to like it. It’s stories…” But, soon, that prejudice vanished when I figured out that Strout was not writing separate stories that happen to feature some continuing characters. She was weaving a tale of a woman’s flawed and marred life, through the eyes of all of the people around her. A strikingly good read!