My Favourite Books of 2012

Here it is: my top five of 2012. I read a tonne of books this year, at least, relative to last year, and I tried to read as many 2012 titles as I could. But I had a huge backlist of titles sitting on my bookshelf that I wanted to read - things like Alias Grace and Motherless Brooklyn, or catching up on Jasper Fforde. I did manage to read a solid number of new titles this year, which made me feel that I accomplished something: I could read the reviews as they came out instead of waiting until I read the book, and I could make recommendations based on the type of reader rather than going by other reviews or recommendations. Which brings me to my #5: In One Person by John Irving.

John Irving is not for everyone. He has a specific style, honed through 40 years of writing. Readers who like him, like him a lot. Those who don't, well, I don't think they ever will. In One Person is for those who like John Irving. It revisits many of the themes he uses consistently: New England, absent father, extraordinary coincidence, sexual discovery and, of course, wrestling. Irving takes on the AIDS epidemic as his main character, Billy Abbott, goes through a sexual discovery in a private high school in New Hampshire and becomes a novelist who writes about his experiences (another Irving theme). Billy then faces the AIDS crisis in the early 80s and watches helplessly as many of his friends and former lovers pass away. Irving writes in his usual blunt style, pulling no punches about the physical and emotional havoc the disease has on both those affected, their families and the survivors. Billy even wrestles with survivor's guilt after visiting hospice after hospice. Of course, the foreshadowing and repetition of both themes and phrases in the novel make Irving's characters seem familiar, since we've seen these things before in other novels. But it doesn't make this novel any less interesting, and a compelling read for those who know and love Irving. If you haven't read John Irving before, start with A Prayer For Owen Meany, then The World According to Garp. If you make it that far, your next read is your choice, and the world of John Irving will open up for you.

Now, when I look at top picks lists for a given year, or "the best books I've read this year" and that sort of thing, I am looking for recommendations for my reading list. I want to know what books I may have missed in 2012 that I should read. Or, alternatively, what books can I move from my "maybe" pile to my "tbr" pile - case in point, Gone Girl. I didn't really think it would appeal to me, and I avoided reading it for a long while. But after reading about it in several blogs and bestseller lists, I decided to give it a try, and it paid off. It's my number 4 book of 2012: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

Gone Girl broke many of the expectations readers had for genre fiction: it's a suspense novel, it's a police procedural, it's a psychological thriller, it's a relationship book. It is all of those things put together, and it works. The book begins with Nick Dunne returning home to discover a tossed house and a missing wife. What has happened to Amy, and on their fifth wedding anniversary no less? Flynn uses an alternating narrator device to tell the story of Nick and Amy Dunne and the reader must piece together the story of their marriage and the current predicament. But who is telling the truth? Whose version of events can we trust? Can we trust either of them? The result is a challenging read and one of the better ones of 2012.

A pet peeve of mine when I read "best of" lists or more specifically "best books read" lists is that many blogs and sites will present you with a list of books that aren't from 2012 at all, but a list of books read in 2012; a reader catches up on a classic, or that award winner from last year that didn't make the cut in the calendar year. While I appreciate reviews of great books and I am always interested in recommendations, December is not the time to rave about Anna Karenina or Catcher in the Rye. I want to know what books from the past year I should read; I already know about classics that everyone else has read and written about. Perhaps January is the month for recollecting your reading habits, while December is the month to add to your to be read pile for 2013. Just remember to review them in January 2014, not the following December. Hence, my #3 pick for 2012 is not The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach but The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam.

Vincent Lam's first novel is a labour of love - five years spent researching and writing a book that has close ties to his own family's history. The novel focuses on Percival Chen, a Chinese citizen living in Saigon before the proper involvement of the American Military in Vietnam. We hear about how he came to Saigon before the end of the Second World War, fleeing Hong Kong just in time to avoid the Japanese invasion. However, the Japanese also made it to Saigon, and Chen must find a way to thrive in an occupied country. He manages to survive the Japanese occupation, as well as the French, and we follow as he struggles to make his fortune as a headmaster of an English Academy as the Americans arrive. The story continues through to the end of the Vietnam War, when the occupiers change once again from American to Communist North Vietnamese. Along the way, Chen is tortured, blackmailed, bribed, and pressured, but he continues to have his eye on earning enough to return to his native China and raise his son in a traditional way - that is, the China he remembers, before the war and before the Cultural Revolution. So much changes for Chen throughout the novel and the reader watches and he searches for ways to adapt - and often fails to do so quickly enough to save his dream for the future or prevent the ones he loves from getting hurt. Lam's prose is crisp and precise, as always, and in Chen, he has created a memorable character whom the reader comes to care for even though he is continually the author of his own demise.

Another trend in "best of" lists in 2012 was avoiding the big names in literature that published in 2012. Zadie Smith, Ian McEwan, Michael Chabon, Hilary Mantel, Alice Munro, Richard Ford, and Junot Diaz all published books in 2012. However, the majority of "best of" lists have left these authors in the cold, instead going for smaller presses, genre titles or obscure authors. This may or may not be warranted, as I have not read all of the aforementioned authors' books, but I did read Junot Diaz's This is How You Lose Her, and it is my #2 of 2012.

Diaz's book is a collection of short stories focused on Yunior, the narrator in Diaz's previous book, The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao (which I still have to catch up with). We read about Yunior's arrival in New York City with his family, about his brother's death, about breaking up with his (many) girlfriends. The resulting snapshot of the Dominican community in NYC is Diaz's greatest achievement, as he brings his reader inside this insular world within a world. The stories are heartbreaking and poignant, and Yunior is by no means a sympathetic character. But we appreciate the view he provides.

Finally, the last trend in 2012 publishing was smaller titles making a big impact. First time authors or authors not accustomed to the international stage made a big impact in both awards lists and best of lists (Booker winner Hilary Mantel notwithstanding). In Canada, the three big awards were handed out to three different authors of thus far limited exposure or success. The Purchase by Linda Spalding won this year's Governor General's Award for Fiction. Although she is Michael Ondaatje's partner, she has not been a noticeable name on the literary scene. The Scotiabank Giller winner was Will Ferguson's 419. Even though Ferguson is a household name in Canada - he has won the Stephen Leacock Prize for Humour 3 times - but this is his first foray into "serious" literature. His look at the new Nigeria and its global impact struck a chord with readers and critics alike, and was a contender for my top five this year. My #1, however, was also the winner of the Rogers Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction: Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy.

Another short story collection, Dobozy's account of the Hungarian community in Toronto and the inescapable past of the Russian siege of Budapest during the Second World War is an incredible read. He takes the reader into the basements and sewers of Budapest during the ill-fated winter of 1945, and we follow as those same people make a new life for themselves in Toronto. A few of the stories focus on the children and grandchildren of these people, but all pay close attention to the irrevocable effect of the siege on an entire country. A brilliant read and deserving winner - of both the Writers' Trust Prize and my top 5 list.

Governor General's Literary Award - Fiction

On Tuesday, Linda Spalding won the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction with her historical novel The Purchase. I have not yet had a chance to read this book, but it sounds intriguing:

"Pennsylvania 1798. Daniel Dickinson, a young Quaker father and widower, leaves his home to establish a new life with his 5 children and a 15-year-old orphan wife. In an act of misplaced compassion, Daniel buys a young slave boy, Onesimus, setting off a chain of events that sweep over several generations."

Spalding was also nominated for the Rogers Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction, won by Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy; Dobozy, in turn, was shortlisted for the GG Award. However, neither book was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, won by Will Ferguson for 419. This marks a broad year for Canadian fiction, with three very different books winning the big three awards. In 2011, the awards lists were dominated by two novels, Half-Blood Blues and The Sisters Brothers.

Read more about Linda Spalding at Maclean's, Quill & Quire, and CBC.

Tamas Dobozy Wins Rogers Writers' Trust Prize

Siege 13, Tamas Dobozy's collection of linked short stories, has won the $25,000 2012 Rogers Writers' Trust Prize. In my opinion, it is an excellent choice, as I enjoyed it thoroughly; to be fair, however, I have not read any of the other nominated works. Read more about the award at CBC.ca, or at the Writers' Trust of Canada site.

Tamas Dobozy Reviews Bookstores

Tamas Dobozy wrote a guest blog post at 49th Shelf today, expounding the virtues of the independent bookstore: "My favourite bookstores... were (or are) all places of secrets barely concealed, where I spent hours thumbing through the shelves amazed by what was out there, the life-affirming sense that no matter how many years I spent there would still always be something interesting to read, another novel or short story collection or book of poems I had to get to." To him, the interesting part was the books that weren't there, the books that didn't make the cut when it came to allocating shelf space. "What they do have room for, just barely, is the distillation of a certain taste in reading, a canon of novels and poems and plays and essays peculiar to whoever runs the store, whatever he or she thinks is a worthwhile continuum of titles and authors and subjects."

This isn't the same at big bookstores. They have much more room for many more titles, or, at least, many more copies of the big titles. And if they have a backlist, it's because there's a new book out by the same author; but the authors that inspired the writer du jour are nowhere to be found. He also takes a jab at big bookstores by singling out the poor university student making minimum wage trying to get through school by working 12 hours a week at a bookstore: "Whenever I asked one of the clerks or proprietors about something they never looked it up in a computer database but drew it from memory, cross-referencing writers as they took me around the store pulling this or that off the shelves." It is indeed a rare find these days if a bookstore clerk can get you those connections, finding those authors that even you haven't heard of yet. However, that's just not practical.

A favourite bookstore of mine in Ottawa had to close its doors earlier this year because the rent was just too steep. My experience was similar to Dobozy's in this store, as I would scour the fiction titles from Aravind to Zola just to see what kind of path it took me on; and it was different every time; as Dobozy explains, "it was less about the books than the experience of someone else’s mind moving through its personal library, making connections I’d never made before, drawing out aspects of writing and reading I’d never considered, educating me less about a reading list than on ways of sustaining and refining literary taste."

Read the entire blog post here, and also check out Dobozy's excellent new short story collection Siege 13. It's available wherever fine books are sold, large or small.

Review: Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy

This collection of linked short stories is remarkable. Dobozy writes about the 1944 siege of Budapest and its effect on its citizens, the culture and the subsequent generations. His writing is sharp, and each story carries the memories of the siege that his characters cannot let go. Excellent!!

What We Talk About When We Talk About Canadian Literature

Last week I read an intense article about the state of Canadian Literature - CanLit - from Steph at Bella's Bookshelves. She was upset about a 2006 article by Douglas Coupland in The New York Times on CanLit. Coupland provides a broad and stereotyped view of Canadian Literature to his American audience, distinguishing "CanLit" from "Canadian writing" by explaining that CanLit is that which promotes the national identity from a time when we needed to separate ourselves from our American and British cousins, and it persists today.

Steph is surprised that an opinion like this exists in the 21st century, considering the wide range of talent coming from Canada recently. The acclaimed novels of the last ten or fifteen years are less than stereotypical and point toward a new identity of Canadian writing. However, Coupland also admits to this. He writes that it is disappointing that the many, many great writers of the new generation do not get the recognition they deserve or are categorized as "experimental": "CanLit is not a place for writers to experiment, and doesn’t claim to be that kind of place. CanLit is about representing a certain kind of allowed world in a specific kind of way, and most writers in Canada are O.K. with that — or are at least relieved to know the rules of the game from the outset and not have to waste time fostering illusions." Is it surprising that Coupland has this opinion? No: from his debut with Generation X, he has been outside of CanLit, and he also admits to this.

Steph's vehement post brings to our attention all of the great writing that has come out of Canada in the last ten years, and she is right: There has been some great writing to come out of Canada in the last ten years. But Coupland is not saying that there is not great writing, just that the established literary community in Canada expects a different type of writing from Canadian writers, more in line with Atwood or Ondaatje. Steph makes a plea for changing this definition:

To be Canadian is to always be searching for meaning, place, purpose, in our own country, in the world. I think all humans do this. The details in our writing are not only what make us relate to each other, but what place us in time and sensibility. Ultimately, we write about the human experience, not just the Canadian one. But that Canadian experience, because of our origins and changing culture and constant questions of identity, and our observations of daily life (which Coupland details quite effectively in his own novels), as well as our ability to imagine outside our boundaries, defies being boxed by its very definition. So why must we insist on limiting it? Canadian writers are daily redefining CanLit. If we’re paying attention, there’s no way we could think like Coupland.

I sympathize with Steph on this point, as it is nearly impossible to categorize Canadian writing into a neat container. Many authors write about experience outside of Canada, and in ways foreign to traditional writing, and will never fit into a description of CanLit. But all great Canadian writers share a fundamental acceptance of their place in the world: a separation from the parts around it, a realization that we are indeed different from other writers from other places. Authors may not always write about rural Canada, or regional stereotypes, but they are always Canadian.

CanLit may be changing with every Patrick deWitt or Zsuzsi Gartner that comes along, but it is a slow change, one that must take into account the 200+ years of writing that came before it. And while British and American writers may not be under pressure to write the great national novel, it will always be a presence in Canadian writing, for we are irrevocably changed by our environment, our country, our separateness, in ways that those authors aren't. Then again, Hilary Mantel just won the Man Booker Prize for Bring Up the Bodies, about a period of time quintessential to modern British identity. It may not be a Canadian thing, but a global necessity that writers write about what's around them.

Check out both articles to add your opinion about Canadian literature. As well, kudos to Steph for setting up the visual guide, with stacks and stacks of great Canadian books to illustrate her point. It made me eager to keep reading great Canadian writing. Speaking of which, time to get back to Tamas Dobozy.

One more short list - the GGs

Yesterday, the finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards were announced. There are seven categories in both languages, so the entire list is quite long. I am only going to focus on the fiction short list, which is, to me, the most interesting. The GG Award is the third in the Canadian trifecta of literary awards, along with the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Rogers Writers' Trust Prize for Fiction. Last year, both Esi Edugyan and Patrick deWitt were nominated for all three, with Edugyan winning the $50,000 Giller and deWitt winning the Writers' Trust and GG, at $25,000 each.

This year, there will be no possibility of a triple crown winner. No book has been nominated for all three awards, though several are in line to win two of the three. Here is the GG Fiction list:

Siege 13 by Tamas Dobozy

Dr. Brinkley's Tower by Robert Hough

The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder

The Purchase by Linda Spalding

The biggest name on this list is Vincent Lam, who has already won the Giller for his 2006 collection of short stories, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures. However, Dobozy and Spalding are also nominated for the Writers' Trust Prize, making them the front-runners, in my mind. Then again, none of these five titles are nominated for the Giller Prize, which indicates an incredible dearth of Canadian fiction in 2012.

Also intriguing is the absence of several big names - Linden MacIntyre, Alice Munro, M.G. Vassanji and Annabel Lyon, all previous winners of major awards, have been omitted.

Another notable finalist is Sheila Fischman for translating Kim Thuy's Ru from French to English. Ru won the GG Award for French fiction in 2010, and the English version is nominated for this year's Giller Prize.

The Governor General's Literary Awards will be announced on November 13th.

Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Nominees

Last week, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize shortlist was announced. This is a lucrative prize, offering $25,000 to the winner. To this year's shortlisted nominees, it will mean that much more, as 4 of the 5 nominees are from independent presses. Here is the list:



Tim Bowling | The Tinsmith
Published by Brindle & Glass Publishing



Tamas Dobozy | Siege 13
Published by Thomas Allen Publishers



Rawi Hage | Carnival
Published by House of Anansi Press



Alix Ohlin | Inside
Published by House of Anansi Press



Linda Spalding | The Purchase
Published by McClelland & Stewart

(from Writers' Trust of Canada)

Alix Ohlin's Inside is longlisted for the Giller. Rawi Hage is a previous winner of the IMPAC Dublin Award for his novel De Niro's Game - interestingly, his previous two novels, De Niro's Game and Cockroach, were also shortlisted for the Writer's Trust Prize.

This year's jury consists of Esi Edugyan, Lynn Coady and Drew Hayden Taylor. The award will be announced on November 7th.

Read more about the shortlist at Quill & Quire.