Blind Prophecy

So after about 100 pages, I gave up on the 2005 Pulitzer Prize winner Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I was almost halfway through the book and I just didn’t care to continue. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t care what happened to the narrator or anyone else in his family. Since the book is fiction written in the style of an autobiography, you’ve got to be interested in what the narrator has to say. I wasn’t. Really, I’ve been waiting to come across something that would make me understand why this is deserving of a Pulitzer, but it’s lost on me. There’s been nothing especially insightful, nor has it offered me a glimpse into a world I don’t know or can’t imagine on my own. It’s just boring. Like listening to an old man talk where you can’t even interrupt and ask questions about the things that do sound mildly interesting.

So, on to Night by Elie Wiesel, which may not have a Pulitzer, but it was an Oprah’s Book Club selection. I gather that this means I’m supposed to be generally a little disapproving or snobbish about being selected by the ruler of the universe as a worthwhile book, but after only 30ish pages, I’m already hooked and don’t want to work in between cigarette and reading breaks. This one actually is an autobiography, and (unlike Gilead) shows a basic understanding of how to tell a story.

Filed under: livejournal by Jere Keys