WLF Prize in Literature 2022

[Leseratte]

Good day to all!

As we've seen from the voting poll on Javier Marías' thread, he's still in contention for this year's prize. For next year, if we're still doing this, we should think of a rule concerning the passing of an author on our shortlist.

I believe we can fix a date by the end of next week as a deadline for casting our votes. Does 29 September sound nice to everyone? This way we can wrap our discussions here in time for us to focus back entirely on this year's Nobel Prize.

Please remember to say how many/which books from each author you've read when casting your votes, and please do so making it clear the order of preference, for instance:

1. Author A
2. Author B
3. Author C

Where the first position (1) is your most prefered candidate, the last (3) your least one.

Feel free in the meantime to share your thoughts on why a given author should be the winner. Also, you may change your votes until the final date.

Any doubts, let us know !

Hi, Bartleby
Thanks for taking care of this, this year too.
I´ve a doubt:
People are already stating their preferences publicly in the order 1, 2, 3. Is that the vote already? I don´t remember if last year the vote was public or secret.

 

[Bartleby]

Hi, Bartleby
Thanks for taking care of this, this year too.
I´ve a doubt:
People are already stating their preferences publicly in the order 1, 2, 3. Is that the vote already? I don´t remember if last year the vote was public or secret.

Last year was public; since people are voting already, I guess we should keep it this way, at least this year. If you all prefer, we can think of a private voting system next time.

 

[namelesshere]

Last year was public; since people are voting already, I guess we should keep it this way, at least this year. If you all prefer, we can think of a private voting system next time.

I admit I would prefer it to be private, but I posted like this because that was the precedent we set last year.

 

[errequatro]

This year was hard. Not so much about who is going to take my first place but the other two.
Very high quality writers, all of them. I truly enjoyed reading them. So here is my vote:
1) Javier Marías:
I was aleady a fan of his writing. The images he evokes and then digresses around, the multilingual puns, the reflections, the humour. Evrything about his writing hooked me. The langauge is stunning without being pretentious, the characters, even if sometimes not memorable, are vivid and well drawn.
The ammount of things one can read between the lines (granted, cultural context helps) is imense.
And then there is the artistic achievement. He introduced the campus novel in Spanish Literature, he gave a new spin to the spy story. Juggled philosophical musings, psychological interrogations, language analysis, so many different aspects that it is difficult to point out one single aspect about his writing.

2) Fleur Jaeggy:
At first, I wasn't a fan. I did not dislike her writing and I thought her writing was very well done. But I tend to dislike aesthetes, I mean those writers for whom style trumps content (this was my biggest problem with Can Xue).
However, she grew on me. I read "Sweet days of discipline" and I enjoyed it mildly until the last 50 pages. Then her writing caught fire. It became gothic, evocative, memorable. Quite a suprise.
Then, I moved on to "I am the brother of XX" and I confess that I found it very uneven. Some stories left me just... "meh". But again, some were really good and I felt that very same fire.
In the end, she became my second choice because long after reading her, I find myself still thinking about some of the images in her books, recalling certain atmospheres. For me, that is the main mark of a great writer. One that appeals to both heart and mind.

3) Gerald Murnane
Read "Tamarisk Row", "The Plains" and "Border Lands".
Again, very tough choice.
He is indeed a master. His books are imersive and evocative.
However (and I am trying not to make this post too long), he is too cerebral. I get what he is trying to do and my mind jumps in joy with some sentences, some images. Yes, my mind. not my heart.
When I put his works alongside those of Jaeggy, he stroke me as a more consistent writer... but a colder one too.
His books don't stirr my soul, so to say. If I could, I would vote him ex-aqueo with Jaeggy. But I can't, so I am afraid this is my choice.

With other candidates, I might have put him first! But not against the other writers in competition this year.
I wouldn't be upset if he won, (contrary to what would happen if, say, Can Xue had won last year) though! I would be happy!

 

[errequatro]

Last year was public; since people are voting already, I guess we should keep it this way, at least this year. If you all prefer, we can think of a private voting system next time.

I see no reason for it to be private because it would be nice to read people's thoughts about their choices. However, I do see the advantages of having a private vote, as so to avoid off comments and petty arguments. A form of protection, in a way.
But yeah, up to you guys... I have already cast my vote

 

[namelesshere]

I see no reason for it to be private because it would be nice to read people's thoughts about their choices. However, I do see the advantages of having a private vote, as so to avoid off comments and petty arguments. A form of protection, in a way.
But yeah, up to you guys... I have already cast my vote

Yes, I suppose privacy somewhat stifles the discussion element... It could be done in the threads dedicated to the authors, but it's quite nice to see it summarised.

 

[Leseratte]

Last year was public; since people are voting already, I guess we should keep it this way, at least this year. If you all prefer, we can think of a private voting system next time.

That´s ok with me.I was just not sure if people had begun to vote already.

 

[Liam]

I've been extremely busy this past year, so my personal reading (i.e. anything not school-related) has been sporadic, irregular, and pitiful in quantity, ?

I don't know if it's even fair for me to vote because I've only acquainted myself with a handful of works by two of the authors, and all of my reading of Murnane happened over several years a long time ago.

But for what it's worth, my vote would be:

1. Gerald Murnane: I have read everything by him up until and including A Million Windows. The only exceptions being his memoir about horse racing (which I found boring, so I stopped reading it) and any non-fiction not collected in the Enduring Lilacs book (I don't think that volume collects everything Murnane had ever published in literary magazines). While I can see how Murnane can frustrate many readers, I find him consistently brilliant over the span of his long career. My favorite book by him is the interconnected short story cycle Landscape with Landscape.

2. Javier Marías: I have read three works by this author: The Man of Feeling, The Infatuations, and A Heart So White. I suppose what some readers find to be his strengths I, conversely, thought were his weaknesses. I usually enjoy long, coiling sentences unwinding slowly like a ball of yarn, but in none of these three books, I thought, did the style match the content, it just seemed so inconsequential in the end. I should, and will, read more by this author in the future, just not this year.

3. Fleur Jaeggy: again, I am being completely unfair as I only managed to read two short little works by her (one of which was Sweet Days of Discipline), and I don't think you can build your knowledge or proper opinion about a writer from such a limited selection. But comparing her style to Murnane's and Marias's (again, not content, but rather the manner in which all three of these authors choose to present their respective material), I found Jaeggy's to be the most uninspired one: lacking, as it were, in vitality, force, or conviction. I repeat, I know I am being grossly unfair, and this author has managed to interest me quite a lot, so I will be returning to her in the future for sure, maybe even before Marias, seeing as her books are so short and therefore easier to digest.

 

[Ben Jackson]

I have already discussed the shortlisted authors in their various threads, so here's my vote (I'll also list their works I've read in order of preference):

Gerald Murnane
Border Districts
Tamarisk Row
Barely Patch

Javier Marias
Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me
A Heart So White
The Infatuations

Fleur Jaeggy
SS Proleterka
Sweet Days of Discipline
These Possible Lives

Jaeggy doesn't have works strong enough, and Marias seems, in to first two books I listed, to have the insight strong enough to outclass Murnane but the last book wasn't close enough (that's not as strong as Tommorrow in the Battle or A Heart so White). And so for his brilliant, tremendous insight through exploration of memory, Murnane is my choice. It was a tough choice really to pick one of three shortlisted writers, they are all beautiful, skillfull, but one has to make a choice.

 

[Leemo]

All three authors were new to me, as were all 4 authors last year, and I can happily say I've enjoyed all 7 authors nominated over the past 2 years, though I think I prefer the nominees this year.

1) Gerald Murnane (Velvet Waters, Invisible Yet Enduring Lilacs)
I enjoyed these works so much that I feel compelled to consider Murnane amongst my most favourite living writers today (along with DeLillo). His writing immediately clicked with me and I rarely found fault in any of his short stories, and regarding his best I think the word 'perfect' is a fitting descriptor. I feel like Murnane writes about the feeling of how our mind and memory works in a way that I sense non-fiction would never be able to. I quite like Benjamin H. Ogden's blurb on the back cover of Invisible Yet Enduring Lilacs: "An image in Murnane's prose has the quality of an image in coloured glass: One both sees the image and sees through the image simultaneously."

2) Javier Marias (Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me)
Despite my best intentions I only got to one of his books, whereas I got to two for the others, but I did greatly enjoy his logical, ruminative prose and I will certainly be back for more. When reading this book I felt like his writing was so obviously of Nobel caliber that he certainly would win sometime in the next few years, and I find it very sad that that is no longer a possibility.

3) Fleur Jaeggy (Sweet Days of Discipline, I Am the Brother of XX)
I found Jaeggy's combination of elegant, savage prose to be quite fun to read, the kind of thing that gives one a devilish little smirk. While I enjoyed these works I'm not confident either will particularly stick with me, though I generally find that to be the case for such short works as these two. I'm in no way at all surprised that some would really click with her stuff, and I can foresee myself recommending her work to a good number of people who take as much delight in the presence of the devil on their one shoulder as the angel on their other.

 

[Liam]

@Leemo and @Ben Jackson: great minds think alike, ?

 

[Ludus]

Allright here we go lads. In order of preference:

1. Gerald Murnane. I read:

• Stream System (2018). The collected short fiction, which includes Velvet Waters (1990), Emerald Blue (1995) and a few short pieces from other books of his. An extraordinary collection, a small compendium of everything you could ask in a book written by Murnane. Read in the English original.
• The Plains (1982). A novel that, in my eyes, comes close to perfection. Part artistic journal, part philosophical treaty, it amazed me with his long perfect sentences and his confusing world of ideas. Read in Spanish translation.
• Invisible Yet Enduring Lilacs (2005). A collection of essays. I'm halfway through it and it's becoming my favourite book of the three so far. Reading in the English original.

2. Fleur Jaeggy. I read:

• Proleterka (2001). An apparently autobiographical account of a father-daughter travel in the ship SS Proleterka. Jaeggy's language could cut through iron. Unflinching prose and a cruel, sincere story. Totally worth a look. Read in the Spanish translation.
• I am the Brother of XX (2014). A collection of confusing yet simple short stories, vignettes and prose poems. A few of them made it to my favorites-of-all-time list. Read in the Spanish translation.
• The Water Statues (1980). A novel written in the form of a play, a bit unnecessarily. Confusing, dazzling, with some amazing moments. Not my cup of tea. Read in the English translation.

3. Javier Marías. I read (all in the Spanish originals):

• Written Lives (1992). A series of biographical vignettes concerning the lives of Marías' favorite writers. Conrad, Barnes, Joyce, Sterne, you name it. Charming and witty.
• A Heart so White (1992). You can see in this novel what Marías is known for, at his best: his long and dizzying sentences, flawed and complex characters, the exploration of memory and guilt. Good one.
• Tomorrow in the Battle Think of Me (1994). I felt like this one was some kind of structural afterthoughts of A Heart so White. The structure is pretty similar, and the themes are similar too. To my taste, this one starts as a better novel, but it declines and becomes lost in his musings. Feels like Marías is just too in love with his own voice and forgets what he was saying.
• The Infatuations (2011). Everything wrong with the last part of Tomorrow is exactly what constitutes the entirety of this novel. Couldn't finish it.

So, yeah. Murnane is my favorite. Jaeggy in second place. Marías in last place. Plus, I think Marías shouldn't still be in contention, and I don't think he was that good anyways. I found him to be a sexist, pretentious prick and couldn't find his work good enough for me to see past that. Sorry.

 

[Bartleby]

Good day to all!

As we've seen from the voting poll on Javier Marías' thread, he's still in contention for this year's prize. For next year, if we're still doing this, we should think of a rule concerning the passing of an author on our shortlist.

I believe we can fix a date by the end of next week as a deadline for casting our votes. Does 29 September sound nice to everyone? This way we can wrap our discussions here in time for us to focus back entirely on this year's Nobel Prize.

Please remember to say how many/which books from each author you've read when casting your votes, and please do so making it clear the order of preference, for instance:

1. Author A
2. Author B
3. Author C

Where the first position (1) is your most prefered candidate, the last (3) your least one.

Feel free in the meantime to share your thoughts on why a given author should be the winner. Also, you may change your votes until the final date.

Any doubts, let us know !

Just a reminder you have until this Thursday (29) to cast your votes, if you haven't already

 

[Stevie B]

Apologies for being an underachiever this year as I barely met the minimum requirement of reading two books per author - extra disappointing since I had already read three of these books before we even finalized our nominations. I promise to do better next year (depending on the nominees ). Here's how I'm voting for this year's slate of candidates:

1. Gerald Murnane (The Plains, Tamarisk Row)
2. Fleur Jaeggy (Sweet Days of Discipline, S. S. Proleterka)
3. Javier Marias (A Heart so White, All Souls)

The good news is that I liked all six books, though a comment someone wrote fairly recently (I think it was Bartleby) led me to reconsider Sweet Days of Discipline. I read and enjoyed that one over a year ago, though I do recall finding the main character edgy and cold. In hindsight, I think I judged her too harshly, as I didn't aptly consider the impact that neglect (or abandonment, perhaps) can have on a child. In an odd way, I am reminded of Jenny in Forrest Gump. In watching reactions to that film online, I see many reviewers chastising her behaviors and decisions. This makes me wonder why she doesn't garner more sympathy, especially from women, considering she was badly abused as a child. So although I'm late to the game in better understanding the school girl in Fleur's Swiss boarding school, my outlook on both the character and the book itself are more positive now than it was after I finished Sweet Days of Discipline a year ago.

 

[Bartleby]

Apologies for being an underachiever this year as I barely met the minimum requirement of reading two books per author

You've done well! We actually stablished a rule of reading at the very least one book by each author

The good news is that I liked all six books, though a comment someone wrote fairly recently (I think it was Bartleby) led me to reconsider Sweet Days of Discipline.

It couldn't have been me, I haven't read it ?

 

[Stevie B]

You've done well! We actually stablished a rule of reading at the very least one book by each author


It couldn't have been me, I haven't read it ?

Wow. Just call me the accidental overachiever.

 

[redhead]

My ranking:

1. Fleur Jaeggy: Three Possible Lives*, I am the Brother of XX*

I don’t think I would have liked these books if I’d read them earlier in my life. They’re incredibly brief, at times elusive, and almost always cold and detached. But my reading tastes have changed and now I’m more impressed with how much Jaeggy can pack into each piece: they’re like springs weighed down, ready to burst forth, and are all the more powerful for it.

2. Gerald Murnane: The Plains, Inland, Something for the Pain, A Million Windows, Border Districts*, Green Shadows and Other Poems*

The Plains is a masterpiece, but I don’t think his other books quite live up to it. I find the themes and ideas he explores to be fascinating, but his way of exploring those things (stringing together memories and fantasies with little plot) doesn’t always work for me.

3. Javier Marias: A Heart so White, Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me, The Man of Feeling, While the Women are Sleeping, Written Lives*

Discursive, repetitive, at times charming, other times maddening. I thought his works were uneven, and like @Ludus I also found him to be sexist. This probably sounds harsher than I mean it to be, as I did really enjoy some of his books (like A Heart so White), but out of these three, I think he's the worst.

* - Read this past year

 

[Liam]

The Plains is a masterpiece, but I don’t think his other books quite live up to it.

Read Landscape with Landscape next, as well as the stories collected in Stream System!

 

[redhead]

Read Landscape with Landscape next, as well as the stories collected in Stream System!

I actually have them both on hand, but couldn’t get around to them in time for our contest

 

[Johnny]

Apologies, for various reasons have not had much time to post and will have to keep brief but here is my vote.
1. Gerald Murnane.
I’ve read a lot of his work, Border Districts, Invisible yet Enduring Lilacs, Inland stand out. Oddly enough The Plains is not one of my favourites from him. But he is one of my favourite living authors, his focus on memory and what he thinks of as he reads fiction is just outstanding. He would be a great Nobel winner. An Australian modern day Proust.

2. Fleur Jaeggy. Sweet Days of Discipline, The Water Statues. Again really like her work, I thought Sweet Days was outstanding. Not much to add from what others have said, it’s icy cold writing but looking forward to reading more by her.

3. Javier Marias, The Man of Feeling, A Heart so White. I would have liked to have read more and will do so in the future. Very saddened to hear of his untimely death. I suspect I have not got to his best works yet so can’t offer a more detailed review.

It was close between 2 and 3 but for me Murnane is the standout. Great selection of writers and a great competition this year!