Kathi Appelt: The Underneath
Appelt's first novel is a beautiful, magical fantasy for younger readers that will instantly become a classic. Seriously. I can imagine this book being in classrooms right alongside Charlotte's Web in a hundred years. The writing is poetic in the good way, and there's a lamia. Children are going to absolutely fall in love with Appelt's equally kind and brutal universe, where love conquers most, and it can take millenia to come to your senses.
Jincy Willett: The Writing Class
With her second novel, Willett matches the perfect pitch and execution of her brilliant short stories. Every writer will want to read this novel--very little wincing is involved, but expect a great deal of laughter. C and I found ourselves reading pieces aloud, after howling provoked the "what's so funny?" question. As with any good writing workshop or class, the characters become more appealing as you get to know them, and ultimately what she has pulled off is a satisfying mystery, and a satisfying exploration of humanity. Amy Gallup is a character to remember.
Karen Joy Fowler: Wit's End
A new novel by Karen Fowler really is something to be excited about, unlike many of the writers for whom such praise gets bandied about. (If you're smirking because you think you know something about her work from the title--not the book--The Jane Austen Book Club, please go sit in the corner and read any of her novels. You're welcome.) This is an unmystery-like mystery, concerned not so much with dead bodies--though there are plenty--as with the mysteries of healing and the heart, politics and people. How is it that a writer gets a lens on the present that's as revealing as the one she employs in historical fiction? Now that's a mystery. Highly recommended.
Steve Erickson: Zeroville
Steve Erickson novels are often like dreams, or revelations, or discovered artifacts, or written just for you. Zeroville's no different, although it is perhaps the most readily graspable example of his work to date. The Rosetta Stone is there; the secret decoder ring is a film projector. The dizzying Hollywood confidential stylings will make your inner film geek happy, but the uncovering of a truly mythic cinematic story--since cinema has existed forever--of sacrifice and redemption is even more memorable. See also: this review.
Ursula Dubosarsky: The Red Shoe (Neal Porter Books)
Set in Sydney during WWII, this wonderful novel travels between the view from inside each of three sisters. Dubosarsky perfectly captures the differences that come from being the younger, older, or middle child. Perfectly conjuring the period, and yet creating a completely accessible story, the narrative contrasts chapters focusing on the family with interstitials from the Sydney newspapers of the time, stories of polio, the H-bomb, and a defecting Russian spy (who happens to be in hiding next door). Nothing here is heavy-handed. Everything is perfectly balanced. It's a beautiful, beautiful novel. See my full take here.
Kara Jesella: How Sassy Changed My Life: A Love Letter to the Greatest Teen Magazine of All Time
So, I'll tell you up front that this book delivers the goods. You will wallow in your Sassy forever-love, and feel as if you've just binged on a lot of especially great issues when you finish it. As the ladies say, this was a magazine about hope. Hope that there was something out there, some Great Beyond better than your teenagedom. And, lo and behold, that promise was kept, even though Sassy got murdered. Added bonus? An excellent portrait of the beginning of Third Wave feminism. See my full take here.
J.L. Bell ruminates a bit on the hot topic of point of view.
Not 100% sure, but here's the I-think-these-won but I took no notes so this will have to do until Locus or someone posts the proper list.
It was held at the (classy) Contemporay Arts Ctr, great fun, very quick, and had an open bar afterward!
the Golden Aurealis were won by:
Novel:
Monster Blood Tattoo: Book One. Foundling, D.M. Cornish, Omnibus
Short Story:
The Arrival, Shaun Tan, Lothian
2006 Aurealis Awards
SCIENCE FICTION
Science Fiction Novels
K-Machines, Damien Broderick, Avalon
Science Fiction Short Stories
The Seventh Letter, Sean Williams Bulletin Summer Reading Edition
HORROR
Horror Novel (split)
The Pilo Family Circus, Will Elliott, ABC Books
Prismatic, Edwina Grey, Lothian
Horror Short Story
Dead of Winter Stephen Dedman Weird Tales #339
FANTASY
Fantasy Novel
Wildwood Dancing, Juliet Marillier Pan MacMillan
Fantasy Short Story
A Fine Magic Margo Lanagan Eidolon I
YOUNG ADULT
Young Adult Novel
Monster Blood Tattoo: Book One. Foundling, D.M. Cornish, Omnibus
Young Adult Short Story
The Arrival, Shaun Tan, Lothian
CHILDREN'S
Children's Novel
Melissa Queen of Evil, Mardi McConnochie, Pan Macmillan
Children’s Short Fiction (split)
The True Story of Mary Who Wanted to Stand on Her Head, Jane Godwin, Allen &
Unwin
Woolvs in the Sitee, Margaret Wild, Anne Spudvilas, Penguin
Posted by: Gavin | January 27, 2007 at 06:29 PM
I'd be interested to see what you think of "Monster Blood", Gwenda. I tried to read it for a column last fall but it seemed too heavy on cliches for me. The reader is expected to accept a lot of stuff as just spontaneously happening in the first few chapters (casual meetings with the exact right people on the street, etc.) and I couldn't do it. It also bugged me that the girl who has been training her whole life gets whacked right off the bat by wonder boy who doesn't have a clue but is suddenly "the one". So just like that she has to start answering to him. That might be a problem more for female readers than male, but it rubbed me the wrong way.
I quit about 1/3 of the way through though so maybe it gets a lot better. I just couldn't hang in there.
Posted by: Colleen | January 28, 2007 at 01:53 AM
Thanks for mentioning Hot Metal Bridge! We do want your submissions, it's true. Metallic, warm, cold, whatever.
Posted by: Carolyn | January 29, 2007 at 05:38 PM