Spotlight on the Book Sense Book of the Year Adult Fiction Nominees

March 21, 2002

Finalists for the Book Sense Book of the Year were announced on February 13. Detailed below are the finalists in the Adult Fiction category.

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Winner of the National Book Award, The Corrections is Franzen’s third novel after The Twenty-Seventh City (1988) and Strong Motion (1992). The book has been called Franzen’s breakout novel. Its combination of post-modern sophistication and a rich family story has given it a wide audience.

From the Book Sense 76 Recommendation:
Both a poignant family saga and a harshly funny omnibus of contemporary culture, Franzen's new novel chronicles the declining fortunes of the Lamberts with great sophistication and compassion. A powerful story of generational conflict and the messy humanity of those on both sides." --Sacha Arnold, Bookshop Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California

Ella Minnow Pea: A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable, Mark Dunn (MacAdam/Cage)

Playwright Mark Dunn’s novel is set on the island of Nollop, named for the inventor of a 35-letter panagram (a phrase, sentence, or verse including every letter of the alphabet). With a premise reminiscent of Thurber’s classic, The Wonderful O, the island inhabitants must discontinue use of each letter as it falls from the statue erected in Nollop’s honor. As Dunn eliminates letters from the islanders’ epistles, their principal means of communication, his word usage becomes increasingly inventive and witty.

From the Book Sense 76 Recommendation:
"A treasure of a novel. Dunn has an incredibly fascinating and clever way of using the English language, with or without all the letters of the alphabet. This witty satire and moving fable is a must-read for everyone who loves words … and free speech!" --Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Empire Falls, Richard Russo (Knopf)

Russo returns to the lives of small-town, working people in Empire Falls from his departure to academia in his last novel, Straight Man (Vintage). The dying mill town of Empire Falls, Dexter County, Maine, sets the stage for this tragicomic novel filled with characters from all economic and social strata -- their dreams and their disappointments.

From the Book Sense 76 Recommendation:
"Russo draws us into the life of a man for whom everything seems settled but now is suddenly quite unsettled. As events unfold, Russo's depiction of this small town and those who are shaped by it is so lifelike you will find yourself revisiting them long after you finish the book. Ribald, melancholy, and nearly perfect; Russo is a master of the intricacies of everyday lives." --Jean Westcott, Olsson's Books & Records, Arlington, Virginia

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, Louise Erdrich (HarperCollins)

Erdrich sets The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, as she did her past five novels, in her native territory of North Dakota. Erdrich was born in Wahpeton, North Dakota, eldest of seven children born to an Ojibwa-French mother and a German-American father. Her intimate knowledge of Native American life is apparent in all her work. By shifting back and forth in time, this ambitious book permits several generations of characters from her fictional reservation to cross paths.

From the Book Sense 76 Recommendation:
"This is the best book I've read this year. Erdrich is one of my favorites, but she has gone beyond beautiful writing and social consciousness. The story is compelling and wondrous. I portioned out the pages, as I never wanted it to end." --Kathy Westover, The Bookworm of Edwards, Edwards, Colorado

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger (Atlantic Monthly)

This debut novel combines an adventure tale with family drama and poetry, all narrated by an asthmatic 11-year-old in Minnesota circa 1962. As an adult, Reuben "Rube" Land tells the tale of his family’s cross-country search for his older brother, who is on the lam after committing a double murder. Enger evokes images of the Westerns of Zane Grey, the adventure stories of Robert Louis Stevenson, and the plaintive, honest child’s voice of Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.

From the Book Sense 76 Recommendation:
"What a book! I was captivated from page one. His pitch-perfect prose is a pleasure to read, and his imaginative storytelling took me through the whole range of human emotion. Peace Like a River deserves a huge audience, it's that good. I eagerly look forward to its arrival so we can begin the delightful task of finding a readership for this really extraordinary (and really fun) novel." --Mark LaFramboise, Politics and Prose Bookstore, Washington, D.C.

Independent booksellers chose the finalists for the Book Sense Book of the Year from a list of titles that were all Book Sense 76 top ten picks in 2001. Ballots for the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards were mailed to booksellers at the end of February along with ballots for the 2002 ABA Officers/Board of Directors. The results of the voting for the Book Sense Book of the Year Awards will be kept secret until the winners are announced at the Celebration of Bookselling on Friday, May 3, at this year's BookExpo America, held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Ballots for the Book Sense Book of the Year may be returned in the same envelope as the Board ballots, and must be postmarked by April 3, 2002. Booksellers can also print out the Book Sense Book of the Year ballot by clicking here. This ballot may be faxed to KPMG at (212) 872-6750, Attn: Charlene Laniewski. The deadline for faxes is April 10, 2002.

For a look at the nominees in the Children’s Literature and Children’s Illustrated categories, click here.

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