They've now announced the final cut, leaving just four titles in the running for the biggest of the French book prizes, the prix Goncourt.
One of the favorites -- Eric Reinhardt's L’Amour et les forêts -- fell by the wayside, but hot tip Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud continues its impressive prizes-run. I was pleased to see a Lydie Salvayre-title in the final four -- and surprised the David Foenkinos made the cut: BibliObs may assure that: "L’auteur de «la Délicatesse» a quitté son domaine de prédilection, le roman «feel good»", but surely the judges should have seen through this: "roman taillé pour les honneurs" (complete with Auschwitz setting, sigh).
[A reminder that, despite being a book prize (in contrast to author-prizes such as the Nobel), the Goncourt is a one-and-done prize: authors who have won it can't win it again (unless you're Romain Gary ...), which is why you tend to see lots of new names every year.]
The winner will be announced next Wednesday, 5 November.
One of the favorites -- Eric Reinhardt's L’Amour et les forêts -- fell by the wayside, but hot tip Meursault, contre-enquête by Kamel Daoud continues its impressive prizes-run. I was pleased to see a Lydie Salvayre-title in the final four -- and surprised the David Foenkinos made the cut: BibliObs may assure that: "L’auteur de «la Délicatesse» a quitté son domaine de prédilection, le roman «feel good»", but surely the judges should have seen through this: "roman taillé pour les honneurs" (complete with Auschwitz setting, sigh).
[A reminder that, despite being a book prize (in contrast to author-prizes such as the Nobel), the Goncourt is a one-and-done prize: authors who have won it can't win it again (unless you're Romain Gary ...), which is why you tend to see lots of new names every year.]
The winner will be announced next Wednesday, 5 November.