Give credit to this year’s Giller jury. Headed by Lawrence Hill, the panel came up with a shortlist that includes books dealing pointedly with social issues. You could almost call this year’s an activist jury. Mona Awad’s novel 13 Ways Of Looking At A Fat Girl focuses on how obesity can mess with a teen’s identity. The Best Kind Of People, by Zoe Whittall, probes the damage done to a family by a sexual assault accusation against the dad.
Others on the list: Gary Barwin’s Yiddish For Pirates Emma Donoghue’s The Wonder Catherine Leroux’s The Party Wall and Madeleine Thien’s Do Not Say We Have Nothing.
Regarding Awad and Whittall, the progressive in me is thrilled I put a strong spotlight on both books this year. The critic in me not so much.
It’s not that these novels are bad. They’re very good – Whittall in particular has definitely raised the level of her craft. But they lack the literary heft usually demanded by this kind of contest .
Of course, no jury can satisfy everyone – note that this year’s was so conflicted, they shortlisted six, not five books – and we all have our overlooked favourite. Mine is Michael Helms’s After James, whose every sentence makes you stop to catch your breath. No writing in Awad’s, Whittall’s or Barwin’s books even comes close.
Who can argue with adjudicators who insist that themes skilfully dealt with in some novels are so strong that they in themselves demand our attention? Body issues dog just about every North American woman, and the Ghomeshi trial transformed the discourse on sexual assault in this country.
But part of me feels that no Giller jury should have to deal with the conflict between “important” books and books that explore deep themes with literary virtuosity, which is where a social issues prize comes in.
Let’s see one: an award for the novel that most successfully sheds light on an urgent issue.
That way our juries won’t be tempted to privilege politics over art.
susanc@nowtoronto.com | @susangcole
