I have a confession to make. The Orange Prize and I don’t always get on. This years winner, The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver is a case in point. I am a big fan of Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible is one of my favourite books ever, but The Lacuna, well to be honest I couldn’t finish it. I’ve reached a point where I’ve decided that life is too short to finish a book I’m not really enjoying. The Lacuna isn’t a bad book, but it just takes to long to get going for me.
When I look back at previous Orange Prize winners, the story is pretty much the same. I loved Small Island by Andrea Levy which won in 2004 and The Idea of Perfection by Kate Grenville, the winner in 2001, but in other years, I have enjoyed more of the short listed books rather than the actual winner. Not to worry, that is what makes prizes interesting, and gives people lots to talk and argue about. After all, it would be a bit dull if we all just agreed with the judges about the winners. This will be a great book for Book groups.
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