Congratulations to Joseph O’Neill, whose novel Netherland has won the 2009 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. If you want to read more about the book, Natalie Bakopoulos wrote an in-depth review of Netherland and its reviews for FWR last year. The PEN/Faulkner finalists were: Ms. Hempel Chronicles by Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, A Person of Interest by Susan Choi, Lush Life by Richard Price (see FWR’s discussion review), and Serena by Ron Rash.
Most reviews of Netherland have focused on the relationship between two main male characters, Chuck and Hans, and on the dramatic and emblematic role of cricket in the novel. Yet a quieter but equally resonant storyline–the unraveling of Hans and Rachel’s marriage–seems to have been labeled by critics as secondary, or even undeveloped. Perhaps this is because so-called important books don’t deal with issues of domesticity and marriage. Or, if they do, we’re quick to give them another, more important label as well: a book about identity, or politics, or globalization, or exile.
EDIT 10-3-08: This competition is now extended through OCTOBER 31, 2008 to give Netherland fans a chance to ponder the perfect cast. In the meantime, tell FWR what books you’d like to see in future dream-cast competitions by commenting here. Every Friday, FWR lets you dream-cast a film adaptation of a widely-read book. First up: Joseph O’Neill’s critically acclaimed Netherland. Who would play Hans? Chuck? Rachel? Jake? Eliza? Any smaller characters? [For the hardcore film people out there: who would write the screenplay? who would direct?] Comment with your picks by 10 PM this Sunday night (Sept. 28) and be […]
