The Rathbones Folio Prize 2021 shortlist

It's always exciting to see what books are listed for The Rathbones Folio Prize. This is an award which is shaped by The Folio Academy and its members (who are mainly writers and critics) play a strong role in putting nominees forward for the prize. So it's essentially a book award where writers celebrate what they consider the best new work of their peers. I'm especially keen to peruse this year's shortlist and see which book is selected as the winner on March 24th because the excellent group of judges include poet Roger Robinson, writer and broadcaster Sinead Gleeson and novelist Jon McGregor. I really respect their taste and I've currently read half of the eight books on this shortlist. 

“Indelicacy” by Amina Cain is an original ghostly, feminist fable about a cleaner in a museum who marries a wealthy man and pursues her desire to write. The debut poetry collection “My Darling From the Lions” by Rachel Long was also shortlisted for the most recent Costa Book Awards and I enjoyed the sly sense of humour of these personal and political poems. Carmen Maria Machado's highly inventive memoir “In the Dream House” describes the experience of being in an abusive relationship by recasting it as a fairy tale filled with fantasy, pleasure and horror. The brilliantly imaginative “The Mermaid of Black Conch” by Monique Roffey was the overall winner of this year's Costa Book Awards and it's impressive how this novel works as a fantastical love story as well as a clever reexamination of the history of colonialism in the Caribbean.

I'm also keen to experience the four books I've not read yet. I've been a big fan of both Sara Baume's novels so I'm especially keen to read her most recent book “handiwork” which is a short narrative about the nature of art, grief and a life lived well. Elaine Feeney is another Irish writer on the list whose debut novel “As You Were” concerns a tough, driven and funny property developer with a terrifying secret that she only confides to a shiny magpie. Yet another Irish writer and poet on the list is Doireann Ni Ghriofa whose “A Ghost in the Throat” has become a bestseller in Ireland as it won The Irish Book Awards' 'Book of the Year' and it's also currently on the Republic of Consciousness Prize longlist. Its narrative is a creative blend of memoir and history as it explores how the 18th century poet Eibhlin Dubh Ni Chonaill becomes a haunting presence in the life of a contemporary young mother. Finally, as someone who lives in south London, I'm very eager to read Peckham poet Caleb Femi's debut collection “Poor” which celebrates the lives of young black boys and the architecture that shapes them. You can watch me discuss all these titles more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpg5SNOgTgg

Overall, this is a really fascinating group of books and I'm excited to see which will win on the 24th. An Irish readathon is taking place this month so the group of books I've not read will give me some great inspiration to join in! 

Rathbones Folio Prize 2020 Shortlist

I’m always keen to see what books are listed for the Rathbones Folio Prize each year because they consistently pick high quality literature. The books are nominated by an Academy made up of writers and critics meaning the judges are always actively involved in creating or critiquing new fiction, nonfiction and poetry. So I have faith in their choices which are judged solely on the criterion of excellence. The judges this year considered over eighty books in total and have selected only eight for their shortlist.

Two are among my favourite books that I read last year: “Lost Children Archive” by Valeria Luiselli and “Constellations” by Sinéad Gleeson. While Luiselli’s novel has already achieved book award attention being longlisted for both the Women’s Prize and the Booker, it’s wonderful to see Gleeson’s deeply personal and artful book of memoirist essays receive prize recognition.

Other books that have received other award attention and that I’ve been keen to read are “On Chapel Sands” by Laura Cumming which explores the mystery of her mother’s disappearance as a child. This has been shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards Biography category and shortlisted for the 2019 Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction. I saw Fiona Benson read from her poetry collection “Vertigo & Ghost” at the Forward Prize readings at the Southbank and have been keen to read it since. It went on to win the 2019 Forward Prize for Best Collection.

In surveying the best books of the year lists from various critics last year two books which consistently mentioned were Zadie Smith’s first collection of short stories “Grand Union” and Ben Lerner’s third novel “The Topeka School”. I’ve previously read a few stories from Smith’s book and have meant to read more. Coincidentally, my partner just finished Lerner’s novel a few days ago and highly recommended it to me.

One of my favourite things about following book prizes is that they often introduce me to books I’ve never heard of before. The remaining two shortlisted books are ones I’ve not come across but which sound really fascinating. “Guest House for Young Widows” (which was also shortlisted for last year’s Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction) by journalist and academic Azadeh Moaveni investigates and reports on the accounts of women who left their comfortable lives to join the Islamic State. Finally, James Ladun’s “Victory” is made up of two novellas which explore male sexual violence, power and corruption.

I’m looking forward to reading some of these books and discussing them soon. Let me know if you’ve read any or which you’re keen to read. The winner will be announced on March 23rd.

West by Carys Davies

It’s interesting when book prizes such as the Rathbones Folio Prize consider contenders from very different genres and styles. This year’s shortlist places nonfiction alongside poetry and fiction. But even the nominated fiction including Burns’ highly stylized “Milkman” and the contemporary “Ordinary People” varies wildly. Most striking are the lengths of the two historical novels in contention: “Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile” by Alice Jolly which is 640 pages and “West” by Carys Davies which is a mere 149 pages. In a way it feels impossible that these books can be judged against each other, but since they have included such a diverse list I assume the judges must only be considering the excellence of the book itself and how well they believe the authors succeeded within the parameters of form. In this way, “West” excels in how it tells a straightforward, succinct and simple story that has a much bigger meaning.

In early 19th century America a widower named Cy Bellman journeys out to the wild west leaving behind his adolescent daughter Bess. He’s seen a news report that the bones of colossal unknown beasts were discovered there so he sets out hoping to discover if any of these rare animals survive. His mission is undoubtably foolish as such a dangerous journey at this time takes years and means he has to entrust the business of his farm and the raising of his daughter to his sister Julie. It’s not even an endeavour to strike it rich like in a gold rush, but just to witness a heretofore unknown creature of enormous size. We follow the years of his hazardous journey alongside the perils his daughter Bess faces as she grows into womanhood. It’s utterly gripping and poignantly told.

It’s a complicated task to portray a male character who acts with such arrogance and stubborn pride. In a way I hated Cy for abandoning his responsibilities to his daughter and leaving a life where he could have been quite content. He even had the prospect of a new romance with a local woman who was a widow. But at the same time he was merely asserting his independence to pursue his dream (even if he was only acting on what today would be considered a mid-life crisis.) It’s a radical act in response to the weight of responsibility he feels and his unresolved grief at the loss of Bess’ mother. Clearly Cy wasn’t doing what was morally or logically right, but Davies effectively shows the complexity of his decision.

It can be tricky for an author to portray a man acting selfishly and at the expense of others in a sympathetic way – as I felt when reading the recently translated novel The Pine Islands. These novels have another interesting parallel of having non-white “sidekick” characters whose dilemmas are taken seriously while not being treated with equal weight to the primary white male character. Cy enlists the help of a Native American Shawnee teenage boy named ‘Old Woman From a Distance’ to help guide him. His tribulations are treated seriously and in a way I felt he was the most complex character in this novella. But Davies portrays all her characters in a way which maintains their integrity and highlights their sometimes horrific actions while not placing any judgements on them.

Aside from these characters’ personal stories this novella seems to be saying something much bigger about the country as a whole and the human impulse to chase illusions. In America’s mission to expand and grow it paved over the land’s history and decimated the native people who inhabited it. The novel shows the casualties of this and the innate desire some people felt to connect with this forgotten history. At the same time it shows how pursing what seems most foolish can become the most important drive in an individual’s life. The novella opens up a lot of issues which leave subtle questions in the reader’s mind and I admired how it does all this with tremendous economy.

Rathbones Folio Prize shortlist 2019

I really like book prizes which include both fiction and nonfiction because it encourages me to read something other than novels. This year's Rathbones Folio Prize shortlist includes two books of nonfiction and one book of poetry. I'm especially keen to read Ashleigh Young's “Can You Tolerate This?” which are essays exploring subjects such as isolation and debilitating shyness. But it also includes a few familiar novels which have also been listed for other prizes such as “Ordinary People” which is currently on the Women's Prize shortlist, “There There” which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and “Milkman” which won the Man Booker Prize last year. 

In a way it's ironic that Anna Burns is on this list since the Folio Prize was initially set up in 2014 as a counterpoint to the Booker Prize because the founders of the Folio Prize considered the Booker to be leaning towards popular fiction over literary fiction. That “Milkman” won the Booker and is also on this year's “Women's Prize” shortlist really testifies to the cultural impact and popularity of this novel. When “Milkman” was first published in the Spring of 2018 it went largely unnoticed, but its inclusion on multiple book prize lists have made this novel one of the most bestselling and talked about in the past year! This is partly why I love book prizes which can really elevate a novel's status when so many great books get lost amidst a profusion of new publications. 

While I personally had mixed feelings about “Milkman” it's one I want to revisit on audio book since many have said this makes it a really different reading experience. I'm also especially interested in reading the novella “West” which has been so popular amongst many readers but also has some severe critics. And I'm especially keen to read “Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile” which looks like an expansive historical novel narrated from the perspective of an elderly maidservant. It's one I'd never heard about before this prize listed it. 

Have you read any of these books or are you curious to now? The winner will be announced on May 20th.