1918 His Family Ernest Poole
1919 Magnificent Ambersons, The Booth Tarkington
1920 No Award
1921 Age of Innocence, The Edith Wharton
1922 Alice Adams Booth Tarkington
1923 One of Ours Willa Cather
1924 Able McLaughlins, The Margaret Wilson
1925 So Big Edna Ferber
1926 Arrowsmith Sinclair Lewis
1927 Early Autumn Louis Bromfield
1928
1929 Scarlet Sister Mary Julia M. Peterkin
1930 Laughing Boy Oliver LaFarge
1931 Years Of Grace Margaret Ayer Barnes
1932 Good Earth, The
1933 Store, The T. S. Stribling
1934 Lamb In His Bosom Caroline Miller
1935 Now In November Josephine W. Johnson
1936 Honey In The Horn Harold L. Davis
1937 Gone With The Wind Margaret Mitchell
1938 Late George Apley, The John P. Marquand
1939 Yearling, The Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1940 Grapes Of Wrath, The John Steinbeck
1941 No Award
1942 In This Our Life Ellen Glasgow
1943 Dragon's Teeth Upton Sinclair
1944 Journey In The Dark Martin Flavin
1945
1946 No Award
1947 All The King's Men Robert Penn
1948 Tales Of The South Pacific James A. Michener
1949 Guard Of Honor James Gould Cozzens
1950 Way West, The A. B. Guthrie, Jr.
1951 Town, The Herman B. Wouk
1953 Old Man And The Sea, The Ernest Hemingway
1954 No Award
1955 Fable, A William Faulkner
1956
1957 (Honorary Award) Kenneth Roberts
1958 Death In The Family, A James Agee
1959 Travels Of Jamie McPheeters, The Robert Lewis Taylor
1960 Advise And Consent Allen Drury
1961 To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee
1962 Edge Of Sadness, The Edwin O'Connor
1963 Reivers, The William Faulkner
1964 No Award
1965 Keepers Of The House, The Shirley Anne Grau
1966 Collected Stories Katharine Anne Porter
1967 Fixer, The Bernard Malamud
1968 Confessions Of Nat Turner, The William Styron
1969 House Made Of Dawn N. Scott Momaday
1970 Collected Stories Jean Stafford
1971 No Award
1972 Angle Of Repose Wallace Stegner
1973 Optimist's Daughter, The Eudora Welty
1974 No Award
1975 Killer Angels, The Michael Shaara
1976 Humboldt's Gift Saul Bellow
1977 No Award
1978 Elbow Room James Alan McPherson
1979 Stories Of John Cheever, The John Cheever
1980 Executioner's Song, The Norman Mailer
1981 Confederacy Of Dunces, A John Kennedy Toole
1982 Rabbit Is Rich John Updike
1983 Color Purple, The Alice Walker
1984 Ironweed William Kennedy
1985 Foreign Affairs Alison Lurie
1986 Lonesome Dove Larry McMurtry
1987 Summons To
1988 Beloved Toni Morrison
1989 Breathing Lessons Anne Tyler
1990 Mambo Kings Play Songs Of Love, The Oscar Hijuelos
1991 Rabbit At Rest John Updike
1992 Thousand Acres, A Jane Smiley
1993 Good Scent From A
1994 Shipping News, The E. Annie Proulx
1995 Stone Diaries, The Carol Shields
1996 Independence Day Richard Ford
1997 Martin Dressler Steven Millhauser
1998 American Pastoral Philip Roth
1999 Hours, The Michael Cunningham
2000 Interpreter Of Maladies Jhumpa Lahiri
2001 Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier and Clay Michael Chabon
2002
2003 Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
2004 Known World, The Edward P. Jones
2005
2006 March Geraldine Brooks
2007 Road, The Cormac McCarthy
I'm about one-third of the way through The Known World by Edward P. Jones and I noticed that it won the Pulitzer Prize in 2004. That got me to wondering about past winners and how many other Pulitzer Best Novels that I might have read. Since I don't normally pay much attention to literary prizes I had to go back and compile a list of past winners. I learned a couple of things in the process: I've actually read more of the winners than I anticipated (those shown in blue) and there have been numerous years in which no prize was awarded for Best Novel. I'm a bit embarrassed, too, to admit to not having yet read a few of the winners, but there are others on the list with which I'm not even familiar. That may be a bigger sin.
You've read a lot more of them than I. I see only 4 there that I've read. There are some big ones that I'm embarrassed to have skipped(mainly To Kill A Mocking Bird). Btw, I see you've read The Shipping News. Supposedly about my home province, it felt so inaccurate. I didn't mind the story itself, it just felt like it was set somewhere else. The setting and especially the dialogue were so fake.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I don't have any way to judge the accuracy or authenticity of "The Shipping News" but I best remember it for being a very tedious read. I can't say that I enjoyed it and I'm still kind of surprised that I actually finished it.
ReplyDeleteI've only read 8, so you are doing pretty well I think!
ReplyDeleteI tend to avoid books that have won ''prizes'' The most prestigious award over here is the Booker Prize, and it is often chosen for political reasons imo.
ReplyDeleteMarg, I was surprised that I have read so many of them since the '70s because I wasn't really aware that most of those had actually won a Pulitzer Prize in the first place. I suppose that's what happens when a person spends so much time in bookstores. :-)
ReplyDeleteNick, while I don't actively avoid prize winning books, I tend to look upon them with a degree of suspicion until they give me another reason to read them. But I so seldom pay attention to the awarding of literary prizes that most of the ones on the Pulitzer list came as a complete surprise to me.
ReplyDeleteI generally become aware of books that win prizes only when they are reprinted after winning and they include a blurb on their new cover about the prize.
Like John I've only read 4. I'm impressed by how many you've read. I thought I would see several titles on my TBR list but I only saw a few. And I know the only book on the list I've read before it was chosen for the Pulitzer is The Road.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised that I had a pretty good streak going from the seventies until this decade, Matt. But that's easily explained by the fact that some of my favorite authors were winning the Pulitzer, looks like.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...well it seems as if I clock in at seven, which is more than I thought I would. Of the ones I have read, I'd highly recommend Middlesex, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll have to take a look at Middlesex. That's one with which I'm not at all familiar.
ReplyDeleteWow, I can't believe I've read 22 from this list. Most from the eighties til now. Did you love Angle of Repose, like I did? An amazing book. I also loved Stegner's Crossing to Safety, not nearly as well known, but a really great book.
ReplyDeleteAngle of Repose is one of my favorite books and I've been meaning to read it again but never seem to get around to it. I'm always a little bit nervous about reading one of my favorites a second time because they don't always strike me the same way that they did the first time around but I have confidence that this one will.
ReplyDeleteCrossing to Safety is another good Stegner book...I agree.
11 for me, and I wasn't trying, either! I really, really enjoyed Middlesex and I highly recommend it to any comers. I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't like Shipping News. I LIKE E. Annie Proulx, too. It seems strange to me that that's the one she won for. I wrote about Kavalier and Clay last month on my own blog, and have been meaning to get to the Milhauser. I love his short stories.
ReplyDeleteBrownie, thanks for another vote for Middlesex. I keep forgetting to find that one but all this good chatter about it is going to finally do it for me. :-)
ReplyDelete