Three Great Titles Will Always Beat One

April 17, 2012

The Pulitzer Prize winners have been announced. Traditionally, we at MCPL would see requests for one title in particular spike as soon as the announcement was made. However, this year will be different. For the first time in 35 years, no fiction award was given to a single title.

Thinking on the past winners like A Visit from the Goon Squad (2011) by Jennifer Egan; Tinkers (2010) by Paul Harding; Olive Kitteridge (2009) by Elizabeth Strout; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2008) by Junot Diaz; The Road (2007) by Cormac McCarthy; and March (2006) by Geraldine Brooks, you might be feeling a little sad not to have the same sure path to a fantastic read.

Friends and fellow book enthusiasts—do not dismay. The Pulitzer panel did not award a winner because of the three finalists, no simple majority could be reached as to which stood apart.

The judges have done us all a service by narrowing the field to three finalists including: David Foster Wallace's The Pale King, Karen Russell's Swamplandia, and Denis Johnson's Train Dreams.

This year, instead of clamoring for one title, we can all salivate over three.

After all, with the weather turning warmer, there’s no better time to have a stack of books to enjoy. Grab your lounge chairs and stretch out in the hammock… just don’t forget to place a few holds first.

Happy reading!

-Andie P.
Claycomo Branch