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Irish Book of the Decade shortlist drawn

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  • 18-04-2010 9:41pm
    #1
    Eliot Rosewater
    Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭


    50 book shortlist for the best Irish book of the "noughties"!

    The diverse shortlist includes John McGahern, two Booker Prize winners, Cecelia Ahern, Ross O'Carroll Kelly, Bill Cullen, Roy Keane and plenty of other authors from all kinds of genres.

    The winner is decided by public vote on the official website: www.irishbookawards.ie. (you could win €250 worth of book vouchers if you pick the winner).


    The prize is meaningless on a number of grounds but what the hell! I'll be voting for That They May Face The Rising Sun by John McGahern because I think it's a smashing book and, besides, it's the only book on the list that I've read.


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    #2
    DonnieScribbles
    Registered Users Posts: 537 ✭✭✭DonnieScribbles


    Only read a handful of them myself, that list reminded me of books I still have yet to read more than anything! William Trevor has been recommended to me a number of times...

    I voted for Tatty by Christine O'Dwyer Hickey because it's excellent.

    Thanks for the link.


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    #3
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    I voted for Judging Dev by Ferriter.


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    #4
    eclectichoney
    Closed Accounts Posts: 4,291 ✭✭✭eclectichoney


    I voted for Walk the Blue Fields by Claire keegan


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    #5
    Kalimah
    Registered Users Posts: 1,139 ✭✭✭Kalimah


    I'd second Walk the Blue Fields. If The Star of the Sea wins I'll be happy too. I've read 10 of the list.


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    #6
    lemon_sherbert
    Registered Users Posts: 716 ✭✭✭lemon_sherbert


    I went for Star of the Sea, but it comprises of a great collection of books, hard enough to decide and I hadn't read very many.


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    #7
    sxt
    Registered Users Posts: 2,737 ✭✭✭sxt


    Ross O'Carroll Kelly,Ahern,Cullen,keane nominated for best irish book of the decade...was is that bad a decade for irish writers?


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    #8
    Monkeybonkers
    Registered Users Posts: 1,784 ✭✭✭Monkeybonkers


    Anyone any idea what the criteria for nomination was?
    Was it sales or just the opinions of the panel?


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    #9
    VinLieger
    Registered Users Posts: 17,911 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    sxt wrote: »
    Ross O'Carroll Kelly,Ahern,Cullen,keane nominated for best irish book of the decade...was is that bad a decade for irish writers?

    Ross o carrol kelly deffinitely deserves to be there, its a popular series that unlike the others you mentioned isnt trying to be something its not. Its funny writing and just because its not your cup of tea doesnt mean it doesnt deserve to be there.
    And lets be honest what are the chances of it winning, most of the people who are gonna vote for this would most likely be people like yourself


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    #10
    sxt
    Registered Users Posts: 2,737 ✭✭✭sxt


    VinLieger wrote: »
    Ross o carrol kelly deffinitely deserves to be there, its a popular series that unlike the others you mentioned isnt trying to be something its not. Its funny writing and just because its not your cup of tea doesnt mean it doesnt deserve to be there.
    And lets be honest what are the chances of it winning, most of the people who are gonna vote for this would most likely be people like yourself

    Sorry,didn't mean to offend at all- It may well be very deserving,these were the authors highlighted for attention on that blurb,presumedly because they are most well known- I have not read a tonne of irish writers so i would not know who should be on any list.I think even if there were no other worthy irish written books this decade, some of them could have been replaced with some up and coming irish writers for example,who may or may not have been more deserving,but could have benifited more with the attention than a Keane or Cullen etc...


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    #11
    Denerick
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 6,488 ✭✭✭Denerick


    Love him or loathe him, O'Carroll Kelly certainly grabbed the zeitgeist by the ear. He deserves a place on the list.


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    #12
    Plowman
    Registered Users Posts: 2,630 ✭✭✭Plowman


    This post has been deleted.


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    #13
    pog it
    Registered Users Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭pog it


    Really hope John Banville wins this with 'The Sea'.

    Just finishing it now. Magnificent book, one of the best I have ever read


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    #14
    Monkeybonkers
    Registered Users Posts: 1,784 ✭✭✭Monkeybonkers


    Monkeybonkers wrote: »
    Anyone any idea what the criteria for nomination was?
    Was it sales or just the opinions of the panel?

    Anyone got an answer to this question?


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    #15
    Spanish Eyes
    Registered Users Posts: 15,923 ✭✭✭✭Spanish Eyes


    Monkeybonkers wrote: »
    Anyone got an answer to this question?

    The Publishers?????


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    #16
    Eliot Rosewater
    Registered Users Posts: 3,745 ✭✭✭Eliot Rosewater


    I couldn't imagine it to have been chosen by a panel. I'm thinking: what sort of panel (ie a limited group of individuals) would choose such an eclectic mix spanning various genres?

    A publishers list sounds about right, much like the Booker list.


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    #17
    jackthelad321
    Registered Users Posts: 397 ✭✭jackthelad321


    John McGahern, Memoir. Incredible. It is exceptional. I can't imagine anyone not moved after reading it. The finest Irish writer in terms of portraying and conveying a honest, poetic sense of Irishness.


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    #18
    Sergeant
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,362 ✭✭✭Sergeant


    jackthelad321 wrote: »
    John McGahern, Memoir. Incredible. It is exceptional. I can't imagine anyone not moved after reading it. The finest Irish writer in terms of portraying and conveying a honest, poetic sense of Irishness.


    Absolutely. This is my choice from the list. Makes 50's rural life come alive.

    As for Ross O'Carroll Kelly, I cannot see why they shouldn't be on the list, they capture the Zeitgeist, the shallowness, the excesses of the period better than anything else I have read.


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    #19
    VinLieger
    Registered Users Posts: 17,911 ✭✭✭✭VinLieger


    Sergeant wrote: »
    Absolutely. This is my choice from the list. Makes 50's rural life come alive.

    As for Ross O'Carroll Kelly, I cannot see why they shouldn't be on the list, they capture the Zeitgeist, the shallowness, the excesses of the period better than anything else I have read.

    Plus they are very funny. Also it is a book that is so Irish that it can only be successful in Ireland, the humour just cannot translate in another country


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