Just finished reading all 98 Pulitzer Prize winners, novels/fiction category. My 10 favorites, FWIW: The Grapes of Wrath All the King's Men To Kill a Mockingbird Angle of Repose The Shipping News American Pastoral The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Empire Falls Middlesex The Goldfinch - ThreadSky

toughsledding.bsky.social • 102 days ago

Just finished reading all 98 Pulitzer Prize winners, novels/fiction category. My 10 favorites, FWIW:

The Grapes of Wrath
All the King's Men
To Kill a Mockingbird
Angle of Repose
The Shipping News
American Pastoral
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Empire Falls
Middlesex
The Goldfinch

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chiweeniefella.bsky.social•91 days ago

The Shipping News and Empire Falls -- such vivid and accurate portrayal of small town life in cold climates. All The King's Men, we read in HS and then when I was in Lafayette, LA for a summer working on the oil patch as an undergraduate, re-read it -- how do books get better when you re-read them?

toughsledding.bsky.social•91 days ago

Most of Russo's books are set in Upstate NY or New England. Maybe it's my familiarity with those places that helps me enjoy the books. As to benefits of re-reading, I agree. It allows us to get more from the text since we have a foundation. I'm often astonished at how much I DON'T remember.

chiweeniefella.bsky.social•91 days ago

Yah, I live here now, can't get enough of Russo. Re-reading the Fool trilogy soon.

Started William Joseph Kennedy's Albany Cycle https://archive.org/details/legsbillyphelans00kenn but got distracted by Lauren Groff's books -- Arcadia, The Monsters of Templeton & The Vaster Wilds in particular.

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johnhgardner.bsky.social•33 days ago

Scrolled down in your timeline to find this post announcing your accomplishment and great list. You have my favorite in Chabon’s work.

toughsledding.bsky.social•21 days ago

I believe that "Kavalier and Clay" is my favorite Pulitzer winner. More than just a top 10. He really is a master.

catherineecullen.bsky.social•97 days ago

Annie Proulx’s “The Shipping News” is one of my favorite books of all time.

toughsledding.bsky.social•96 days ago

Mine as well, as you can see from the list.

leetlelinda.bsky.social•97 days ago

I tried to read all of them, too, but failed to get through a couple of them. Like your list.

toughsledding.bsky.social•97 days ago

Some challenges, for sure. "A Fable," by Faulkner comes to mind. Also, the early 20th century books focus way too much on the privileged class. But that same era also gave us Willa Cather, a wonderful writer.

leetlelinda.bsky.social•97 days ago

Humboldt’s Gift got thrown across the room. There was one other, I’ve forgotten the title now, that was written in dialect that defeated me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

toughsledding.bsky.social•97 days ago

Had not read Bellow prior to my Pulitzer journey. It tried my patience at the outset, though I pushed thru and enjoyed the characters. Dialect was an issue in a number of prize winners. Faulkner's "The Reivers," for one. Also, much of the discourse by slaves in "Gone With the Wind."

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