We're approaching that time of year when newspapers begin compiling their 'best ofs'. I know this because I'm putting together Metro's sports books of the year - currently headed for me by Matthew Syed's brilliant Bounce: How Champions Are Made. While I digress, the William Hill Sports Book Of The Year 2010 is announced next week: Syed has been shortlisted and I've reviewed two of the other nominees for Metro as well; Duncan Hamilton's A Last English Summer and Luke Jennings' Blood Knots. The latter is lovely, as is the man - I interviewed him around his nomination for The Samuel Johnson Prize. But it would be a major surprise if he won - as a memoir about fishing it's not really a sports book.
Anyway, if I do get to write about my favourite fiction of 2010, Room by Emma Donoghue will be right up there. The book "triggered" by the Josef Fritzl case has stayed with me like no other this year, and so it was really nice to get the chance to speak to her about it for The National. Here's the piece, published this week - and if anyone has, ahem, room to read one more novel before the end of December, this is undoubtedly the one.
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I love Emma Donoghue's work too, particularly her historical stuff; her short-story collection The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits is incredible: her vision is raw and unflinching but poetic too.
ReplyDeleteBen, I predict that the Sports Book of the Year for 2011 will be either your very own Canary Dwarf to Giant in One Season or my opus, Cardiff City Blow-ups(2005-2011 inclusive). Hope all is well with you. Check me out at grumpyoldgran.com
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