I look forward all year to awards season. Not the Tonys, Oscars, or Emmys but the NBAs, Man-Bookers, Peace Prize, etc. I love book awards season. Yet another set of awards lists have come out in the last couple of days: The Dayton Literary Peace Prize short-list and the National Book Awards for Fiction longlist.
The 2016 Dayton Literary Peace Prize fiction finalists are
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara:
Synopsis: Four college classmates—broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition — seek fame and fortune in New York City in this hymn to brotherly bonds. A masterful depiction of love in the twenty-first century, Yanagihara’s stunning novel is about the families we are born into and those that we make for ourselves.
*This has been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Man-Booker and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. Last year, signed first editions listed up to $425 and unsigned copies listed up to $250. Almost one year later, signed first printings are still listing from $120-$400. Unsigned copies list from $95-$185.
The U.S. edition published by Doubleday is the true first.
Delicious Foods by James Hannaham:
Synopsis: Held captive on a mysterious farm and under the sway of an overpowering addiction, a widow struggles to reunite with her young son. Hannaham's daring and shape-shifting prose infuses his characters with grace and humor while wrestling with timeless questions of forgiveness, redemption, and the will to survive.
*Unsigned first printings list, on average, for $50; Signed list from $80-$150.
Green on Blue by Elliot Ackerman:
Synopsis: A young Afghan orphan is forced to join a US-funded militia in order to save his brother, who is hospitalized after an attack on their village, in this morally complex debut novel about the harrowing, intractable nature of war and the sacrifices we make for love.
*Signed copies list up to $55.
Orhan’s Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian:
Synopsis: Drawing on her own family history, Ohanesian pulls back the curtain on a devastating chapter of the Armenian Holocaust, moving between the 1990s and the 1915 Ottoman Empire in this remarkable debut novel about war and recovery, crimes and reparations.
*Signed list from $50-$75; Unsigned: up to $40
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen:
Synopsis: This profound, startling, and beautifully crafted debut novel tells the story of a man of two minds whose lofty ideals necessitate his betrayal of the people closest to him. Both gripping spy yarn and astute exploration of extreme politics, The Sympathizer examines the legacy of the Vietnam War in literature, film, and the wars we fight today.
*Signed: list from $400-$1,600; Unsigned start at $50
Youngblood by Matt Gallagher:
Synopsis: During the final dark days of the War in Iraq, newly minted lieutenant Jack Porter struggles with the preparations for withdrawal from the country, especially the alliances with warlords who have Arab and American blood on their hands.
*Listing, on average, for about $50, signed (no unsigned copies were listed on Abebooks at the time of this posting)
