I was shocked several ago to find out that my favourite book of all time, Lonesome Dove had won the Pulitzer Prize.
It was a Western. And they talked about boobs. And they did a lot of spitting. It just wasn't the sort of book I thought won the Pulitzer Prize.
When I thought of books that won the Pulitzer Prize I thought of War and Peace. Crime and Punishment. That sort of thing. You know, books that required effort, a year and a half and a recently acquired British accent to read. At the very least the book would have to be written by a Russian.
Turns out I was wrong.
Turns out the award can ONLY go to American authors, which explains the curious omission of the entire Shopoholic series. Journalists are given more leeway. Any nationality can win a Pulitzer for journalism as long as they work for an American publication (web or print).
The Pulitzer Prize was established in 1917 by publisher Joseph Pulitzer. And any journalist or novelist can submit their work to be considered for a Pulitzer as long as it fits into one of the Pulitzer categories. And As long as they have the $50 entry fee. Which ironically, a lot of writers don't.
So as it turns out, the Pulitzer Prize isn't something that screams "REALLY HARD TO READ BOOK HERE! GET YOUR 1,000 PAGE SNOOZEFEST HERE!". It actually means, "Get your really good book here". Winners have included funny books, serious books, Westerns and snoozefests.
If you're looking for an award winning book to read, these are a few of the Pulitzer Prize winners I've read and how I rate them out of four "♥"'s.
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides ♥♥♥♥ completely fascinating
Empire Falls - Richard Russo I swear to you I can't remember a thing about this book. That says a lot.
The Stone Diaries - Carol Shields ditto for this one.
Lonesome Dove - Larry McMurtry ♥♥♥♥ favourite book of all time
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ♥♥♥½ absolutely hilarious
To Kill a Mockingbrid - Harper Lee ♥♥♥½ classic
To see a list of the entire Pulitzer Prize winners in the fiction category just click here.
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rev59@shaw.ca
I love the book lists! Thanks!
kathy
1000 White Women is a great read!
Rondina
Just as long as it was the book, Lonesome Dove, not the movie. I thought the movie was great when it came out. I bought it a few years ago and thought OMG. That was awful. Good actors with horrible direction. Larry McMurtry came down to an event on a old road named Lonesome Dove in North Texas after the movie. That was kind of neat at the time. Now, I also look back and think, 'What was the big deal?'
Janet
Lonesome Dove has been my favorite book since forever. My family made so much fun of me when I was young for being in love with Gus. I still am in love with Gus. When I picked the book for book club I served beans, biscuits, and CARROTS! :D
caryl hodgdon
Hilarious!
Marie
I'll put Lonesome Dove on my Kindle for summertime in-the-hammock-reading. Empire Falls is the ONLY book that I did not read through to the end. I brought it back to the library and walked away without a moment of regret.
Blandine
One of my favorite books is Wallace Stegner's Angle of Repose and I didn't know it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972!!! Thanks for the list, I might have to pick one and go for it, I've been needing some inspiration lately.
Emmie
Exquisite writing in Angle of Repose.
sam
Wallace Stegner taught McMurtry at Stanford. Also taught Ken Kesey, who wrote my favorite book, Sometimes a Great Notion. So my favorites are Angle of Repose, Lonesome Dove and Sometimes.... I'm actually rereading Angle right now as I found a first edition in a used book store this week. Just finished Kingsolver's latest on the Monarch butterflies. Actually, I guess it was a month ago, but it's still a hot topic around here. Excellent.
sam
The subtext of the novel is a treatise on disturbed migration patterns and why Monarchs have dropped Mexico from their cycle and the consequences thereof.
Thanks for letting me know about your Monarch posts, I'm off to read them now. Sam
Scott
Confederacy of Dunces....so good and funny and yet so sad that we couldn't have a sequel.
gloria
Guess I'll throw my 2 cents in here with my own list. Top 5: To Kill a Mockingbird, Lonesome Dove, Empire Falls, The Shipping News, and The Color Purple. Then going back a few years: The Reivers, The Optimist's Daughter, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Most of these have also been made into movies, with varying degrees of success. But Karen, you might like Empire Falls more if you see the mini series. I think it was very well done, great cast.
Maureen
And didja know that the correct pronounciation is "pull-it-sir" not "puhl-it-zer" as most of us think. I read that on their web site once. My husband has been trying to get me to read Lonesome Dove for years. It's just so, um, THICK. That is a big committment. Of course, I am currently reading "The Singularity is Near" which rivals LD in overall heft.
Deet
I've been meaning to read Lonesome Dove and now will move it to the top of the TBR pile. Thanks for the suggestions.
pooks
You also need to check out The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (comic books!!!), A Visit from the Goon Squad and Tales of the South Pacific (much better and shorter than you might think if the idea of Michener horrifies you).
Karen
Pooks - I'm going to take a huge leap of faith here and assume these are not from the Pulitzer Prize list of winning books, LOL. ~ karen!
pooks
They are ALL from the list!
Karen
A comic book won the Pulitzer?! That's hilarious! Now I'll *definitely* have to read it. ~ karen!
pooks
Sorry to confuse--it's not a comic book, but a novel about comic books!
Karen
LOL. I"m getting a headache. O.K. ~ karen!
Dawn
Lonesome Dove is my favorite book, too. I've never met another chick who felt this way. I stayed up until I couldn't see, set my alarm to get up early, and cried my eyes out when it was all over. And I was an apathetic 19 year old at the time. What can I say, I love good-natured whores and scoundrel cowboys.
Amanda Watkins
Very informative post! Thank you!
Somewhat unrelated: I just read in the past couple of days "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."
Without knowing anything about it(not one thing. my husband thought it was about an Asian lady) before jumping in.
All I can say, 600-700 pages later is "WOAH!!"
And then at then end, I learned it's a trilogy.
And so then I looked it up on Wikipedia to find out how many books there are, and I learned the author died before they were published.
But he was from Sweden, so now I know that he couldn't have won a Pulitzer Prize.
The amount of things you learn in a couple of days!
Happy reading!
Pam'a
The whole trilogy is so good that I rushed through the first two (borrowed), and had to go out and buy the HARDBACK because I couldn't wait for the paperback. (Also, for what it's worth, the Swedish MOVIE trilogy of them is awesome too!)
Tina
I agree with you on A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole. It's hilarious but I would give it more hearts. I won't finish the book because there will never be anymore. I can never read the last thing written by a favorite author.
I also love early Barbara Kingsolver (e.g., The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven)--her newer stuff, not as much.
Jen
I wish I could say I loved A Confederacy of Dunces. I couldn't even finish it!
Anna
I've started it three times - I just can't.
Tricia Rose
The trouble is, I don't so much enjoy reading prize-winning books because too often they are oversold. Pullet Surprise me!
Sara
True! Not a winner, just noticed it on the finalist list. I've been needing some reading inspiration, so thanks again!
Sara
Fun! I also enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (although I liked The Lacuna and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle better). Great list - thanks!
Karen
I really liked the Poisonwood Bible too, but it wasn't a Pulitzer winner. Short listed I think. Did NOT like The Lacuna and loved Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. :) ~ karen!
Carol
Have you tried Prodigal Summer? That is not only my favorite Kingsolver book, but one of my favorite books in general.
Emmie
Karen - I think this book would be right up your alley. It is one of the few books I've re-read.
Dana
Barbara Kingsolver's latest novel, Flight Behavior, is great. i just finished it a few days ago. (I didn't get through La Lacuna.)
Dana
I read The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields in my early 20s and really liked it. When I visited my mom in Winnipeg I convinced her to take me to Tyndall, where the book took place. The houses are so tiny, maybe 12x12, two stories. We went to the quarry and picked through the rock looking for fossils, too. I'd give it ***
Karen
Maybe I'll give it another read. It'll be like reading it for the first time since I can't remember a thing about it. ~ karen!
cred
Me, too! I read it and pretty sure I liked it but have zero recollection of what it was about. Clearly, it doesn't make a lasting impression. I just recently read Unless and while the story stuck in my mind more, it wasn't riveting.
Keri
Totally agree about To Kill A Mockingbird! From the list of winners The Hours by Michael Cunningham and Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri are also favorites.
Kate
Karen!
Read "The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao" one of my all time favs and Pulitzer Prize winner and not on this list! I will read Lonesome Dove in exchange. Deal?
Karen
Hmm. Dunno. I cannot commit without knowing what some of your favourite books are. Nope. I cannot. ~ karen!
Gayle
I loved “The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao” and Lonesome Dove. Oscar is unlike any other book I have read and Middlesex is fascinating. For great reads (too new for the Pulitzer) I recommend Gone Girl and Girl Child. I could not put them down. Karen thanks for the history lesson on the Pulitzer!
LeeAnne
Thanks for the list Karen! I had no idea Pulitzer was open only to American based writers. "To Kill a Mocking Bird" was recently mentioned on the "Stuff You Should Know" podcast (audio). One of the hosts said he loved the book but shortly after reading it watched the movie and said it was the only time a movie was better than the book. Either way, a really great story.
sera
Sorry, I totally disagree. The movie was good, but the book was still better than the movie.