Did the Pulitzer Prize Make a Mistake With Night Watch? A Pulitzer Prize Deep Dive 

Just saw this on my TV and had to hop on my phone to leave a comment. This. This is why I love you so much, Greg. Such a well-tempered, thorough, sincere, apt, interesting analysis. Your videos often mention having a discussion, and it really feels like one, not like being talked at, particularly one point in the video where it sounded like you were responding to something we viewers just said. Makes it feel very immersive and real-time. And while it was satisfying to see you toss that book (in a genuine and organic moment, not as performance), it was after very thoughtfully discussing what you consider to be wrong with it. In my mind, if not in a review, I probably would have mentally tossed it, slotted it into the "sh*tty writing" category for all the reasons you gracefully addressed. I probably would've been mad I'd wasted my time when I could've been reading something else. The time you have spent sharing your thoughts redeems and dignifies the entire topic, and it feels like a gift. I admire your ability to keep it classy 🎉

Haven’t read it. I have to be honest and tell you that any book that generates such a visceral reaction makes me curious.

Wonderful rant. If this book wasn't going onto your Pulitzer shelf, I could envision a book toss that would've sailed right through that window behind you.

I sort of want to buy the book and just throw it across the room every week or so, with all my life's frustrations piled upon it. Greg, you're so inspiring! 😍

Wow. Thanks for reading that book, so I don’t have to.

Greg throws the book across the room. That says it all, folks.🤣

Yes, I have read Night Watch through the Libby app, first as an audiobook, then as an ebook…so yeah, twice. It’s telling that Libby predicted I wouldn’t get the ebook for 18 weeks and it was available in less than three. Night Watch has out-Netanyahued The Netanyahus! Is this the worst Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction? No, I think the Updike books are worse, but Night Watch lives two blocks away.

Like you, I’m starting to worry if the Pulitzer is ok. I was DOWN with Trust and DC sharing it last year, but with The Netanyahus, The Night Watchman, and now The Night Watch, we’ve had 3 dud years out of 4, and very worthy books have been excluded (Love Songs of WEB Du Bois *cough*). Not sure what’s happening, but very grateful for your honest thoughts. Looking forward to your deep dive on the state of the Pulitzer in 2024…

I’ve tried reading Pulitzer Prize winners. Too many of them, I just scratch my head, thinking, am I missing something? Apparently not.

Night Watch drew me in and kept me interested up to a point but then it quickly had me asking, “What is the point you’re trying to make, Jayne Anne Phillips?” I enjoy historical fiction because it leads me off-piste down rabbit holes so the lists and photos, etc., were enjoyable for me although completely unnecessary and puzzling as to why they were included. The sexual assault scene was brutal and drawn-out to the point where I yelled, “Stop hitting me over the head with this!” Having read the excellent McBride, Woods, and Patchett books, I am left scratching my head as to why Night Watch was chosen as the winner.

I haven't seen anyone give this a good review yet. I am envisaging a corner of the floor of your library where Night Watch, Rabbit Run and The Netanyahus live.

When I think of all of the books that they must have read and considered, I really struggle to imagine how they agreed on this winner.

Time for a cinnamon bun book now, Greg.😁

I didn't know that Chabon was on the jury, so this video was very informative. Do you have a link to that statement about the other books he liked? I have the deepest respect for this man, and while I didn't read Night Watch, there are so many people I respect who disliked it that I'm a bit surprised and disappointed. Regarding the point about a "writer's writer," Yiyun Li, one of the nominees, is also somebody who is taught in writing classes a lot and is perceived as what you refer to as a "good literary citizen" in the community. However, even by her standards, the nominated book was the most obscure of her books. Interestingly, she will be on the Booker jury this year, so let's see how much of the Pulitzer mindset will be in this year's Booker.

In hindsight, we have Tayari Jones blurbing a rave for Night Watch, the Fiction jury chair Sam Sacks giving a positive WSJ review (he was also on the jury for The Netanyahus, so watch out whenever he's selected for one of these), and Michael Chabon proudly making a point of acknowledging lesser-known authors, which might have been the mandate of the jury this cycle. The three other books Chabon mentioned were The Ice Harp by Norman Lock, After World by Debbie Urbanski, and Dearborn by Ghassan Zeinnedine. I've only heard of Dearborn, which I thought could legitimately be a dark-horse contender for its topicality. Seems like the heavy hitters were penalized for being heavy hitters, just like the Booker jury did last year for Demon Copperhead, which still irks. It makes the exclusion of North Woods here even more gross and glaring. My library doesn't even have Night Watch in circulation. I'm not bothering to seek that nonsense out after I was burned with the unreadable Lark & Termite. I checked out Same Bed Different Dreams instead. Very weird, but I'm kinda liking it so far.

I remember a Pulitzer finalist I found absurd when I first read it, "The Quick and The Dead" by Joy Williams. I had wished it had won just so people could hate in more! It seemed ridiculous. It actually is. Still. But somehow I came to love it for being such a daring mess, so heavily handedly "literary" and a honest to goodness hoot! And so I read more Williams and now she's one of my favorites. If this gives me that sort of experience, it's worth a try! But then again, sometimes a mess is just a mess. I do love how hated this appears to be, however. That's something right there! I probably would overlook it otherwise. If I just plain hate it? Well, I was warned!

I am so grateful for your breakdown on this. I only loosely follow the Pulitzer. I was on a mission to read them all but have been over them as a standard bearer after the years of no-award (no great American fiction, really?) followed by confounding ties. Last year they got it (mostly) right with Kingsolver but I still doubt their merit. No Black women in decades, so few diverse authors and diverse subjects. I worry that their loose and nebulous standards reinforces the notion that the Pulitzer is dated or their judges aren’t reading and recognizing some excellent and diverse, yet unrecognized works.

Great review Greg. Thank you, you put so much effort into the Pulitzer videos it is always entertaining and grestly appreciated. Go well.

Eric Carl Anderson did a similar review :)

And this is why we love you, Greg. The best part of this review hits at the 16:00 mark with your recitation of many other deserving books. I didn't realize it's been since 1988 since a Black woman won the Pulitzer. Good Lord. (Talk about being dragged kicking and screaming into the modern world.) That is baffling that Phillips doesn't classify this as historical fiction. What the hell is it, then?! And don't get me started on the sexual assault scene -- it's going to be a long, long time before that leaves my mind (if it ever does) which makes me furious because this was a DNF!

I hated it from the minute I picked it up. You gave me the right to throw it away and worry about Pulitzer's meaning.

Damn interesting review... When you were talking about the depictions of SA and feeling physically ill, I have only ever felt that when reading Kent Hafuf's Plainsong... I HATED that book. The gratuitous violence against women, animals, and children, and the random sexualization of women at every turn was vile. I am still so gobsmacked that people rave about that book. It felt like I was reading an old predator's smut novel. Hated it with a burning passion. But I can easily tolerate depictions of violence in thrillers and other novels without feeling triggered. Plainsong is the only book I've read that has triggered a physiological response that mimics when I feel like I'm in danger of being SA'd.

I so appreciate your honesty. I read so many of the wonderful books that I thought were in contention for the prize. I haven't read Night Watch and probably never will now.

Great review!, thank you

The fact that you threw it across the room tells us all we need to know, Greg! You so rarely do that, it's obvious it has offended you greatly. I'm sorry you were so disappointed this year. A lot of what you were saying accounts for why I generally don't read any of the prizes. I don't need some secretive process or some judges I don't know telling me what great literature is. It's all so subjective. And it seems clear to me that each year there's a different agenda with the Pulitzer in particular. I hope you are reading something much better now ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

And this is why my own Pulitzer project is something I’m holding very loosely. I don’t want to read Updike and thanks to your review I don’t want to read this. Life is too short to read bad books!

what an amazing collection in the background!! im between homes at the moment so all my books are in storage. I used to love collecting books, mostly poetry and art books. I can't wait to get them back❤

Loved the rant! There’s nothing like a good (always polite) Greg rant. I have not been a fan of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the years, admittedly not that many, I have followed it. The secrecy is the thing that annoys me the most. But any prize year for any prize that has a pretty obvious agenda is bound to make me angry. This goes back to Margaret Atwood co-winning the Booker because a couple of judges thought she (not the book) deserved it and refused to play by the rules. Prize juries have to stay within the bounds of the rules for the prize. I think they should have been questioned about their finalists as they were so completely out of left field. Not that that would have changed the result this year, but maybe future juries might consider staying within the rules. Excellent video!

Hey Greg! I totally agree with your review, but I wanted to point one thing out, I think the photos actually are all photos of things (or the photos themselves) that are referenced in the book, so that directly enter in the plot. For example, the photo of the soldiers that you mentioned is actually, I believe, the photo that Dearhbla (sic? who knows/cares) keeps and describes of her kind-of son, hubby of Eliza. I totally agree that a lot of the historical details are useless and confusing, as well as with the rest of the review. Love your videos! Thanks!

Spot-on review!! 👍🏼

Wow !!!!! Your passion for the 'injustice' of this is so wonderful to hear because it proves how much you care about it. I now think that there is clearly a hidden agenda other than 'The Best Book Wins' therefore you or anyone else outside of that judging panel will not be able to make sense of it. For me, no point in taking part in a game you don't know the rules for ! Won't spend time in this next year. What a shame !

I am not an expert in literature. I liked the book (except for the rape scene) because I believed the subtle messages I took from the novel tied it together for me. In that time period, to know that an asylum really did exist with compassionate policies is amazing and true! Some of the heroes of the story were the surgeon who helped the night watchman, the doctor who recognized serious trauma in “miss Janet”, and Dr. Kirkbride’s vision and design of this asylum. In so many books, those types of characters (in leadership positions) end up being the bad guys and this was a refreshing change. I also liked the way the individual threads throughout the book all came together at the end - with surprises along the way. Throughout the book, I felt the author gave us glimpses of what it was like - as a woman - to live in the wilderness during and after the war. For example, The old woman was unveiled as a smart resourceful woman, not the crazy lady who lived alone. She felt things and believed she had spiritual insights into the experiences of others - giving sage advice to the young girl. I am surprised you used the word HATE to describe how you felt about this novel. Maybe the subtle messages were hard for you to find. By the way, Tom Lake was one of the most boring books I have ever read!

I have not read any of these books, but it's enjoyable to hear your analysis and criticism, Greg. I understand where you are coming from even though I don't literally understand from a firsthand experience yet (if that makes sense).

Same. Finally read it. I could think of 2-3 that should've ranked above.

This was brilliant, Greg! Thank you very much!🌷I’ve enjoyed all the books I’ve read following your recommendations, and I’m definitely not going to waste my time on Night Watch. By the way, I read The Netanyahus when it won the Pulitzer (I hadn’t discovered your channel yet😢) and wasn’t impressed. I actually found it rather annoying. So I’m glad I’m being saved from another disappointing (and this one even traumatizing) read. Totally agree on Tom Lake and The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store deserving the prize. I know you are of a different opinion, but I also wouldn’t have minded if North Woods had won. I have read Trust, but not yet Demon Copperhead, I think I’ll try and squeeze it in among my summer reads. I’m currently listening to Barbara Kingsolver narrating one of my favourites among her novels, Prodigal Summer. Great book and great narrator!😊📚

So glad to see you talked about this! I tried reading the book and would have tossed it if it weren't on my eReader 😂 Thanks for reading it and sharing all your thoughts.

The problem with those type of win is that the author herself will probably suffer a backlash not of her doing and the people giving her a win thinking “we will make her recognized “ are not the one that will the hate long term and it might actually results in the opposite of what they wanted to happen.

The book throw at the end was the cherry on top for me.

Wow. Thank you for this review. This is absolutely not a book for me and I'm glad I know that now, rather than finding out while reading. It's too bad that this was the winner. I wish we could understand what the judges were thinking.

I read this book several months ago when I saw it on the National Book Award long list. I am a huge fan of civil war historical fiction, so I gave it a whirl. I thought it was okay, if a little quirky and creepy, but I definitely do not think it was Pulitzer worthy. I absolutely agree with you about what the three finalists should have been. Absolution should have won because not only was it beautifully written, but it was thought provoking and heartfelt. It’s a book I keep thinking about.

A discussion on what makes a book not a good book is an interesting one. If that makes things any better.

Wonderful review, Greg. I read Absolution. I thought I would DNF it, but went back to it a few days after I stopped reading. I'm glad I did. It's not a Great American Novel, like So Big and To Kill a Mockingbird, but it's a good book. I saw an interview with Ann Patchett and she picked Absolution to win the Pulitzer. Tom Lake should have won the Pulitzer.

I agree. I wanted to love it, but constantly checking the percentage of completion on my Kindle is not a good sign. I didn't hate it; I just thought, "OK, in a year, when anyone asks me about that, I can regurgitate what it's about as if it were a movie I watched on a plane."

Apropos of very little, The Washington Post is running a series about the National Book Award which turns 75 books this year. The first article is called " How the National Book Award Reflected 1950s America." It's by the writer Viet Thanh Nguyen. There is the article and then there are snarky mean comments in the comment section.

Wow, that’s a lot of hate for a very good book.

I will be reading it for my library book club, but I really want to read the other two finalists.

I thought there was an interesting book hidden in here, but mostly feel the same way you do about it although no to the degree you did. I was certainly fed up by the end and forced myself to get through the last few chapters. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Kind of crazy that my favorite book of the year North Woods wasn’t even a finalist.

I don’t know if I told you this but almost a decade ago I was thinking of doing a Pulitzer Prize project but it lost steam because I was reading them in chronological order and some of them I just can’t for the life of me agree with and I’ve found that I enjoy the Women’s prize and the Booker prizes much more, so I ditched that effort. Glad to see there are some still going the distance, I’ll watch from a distance 😂 nooo thank you hahahhaha. I did also become aware of a prize for adventure stories and I’m pretty hype on that. Our Hideous Progeny which is on my TBR this month is on its short list along with some other really fantastic sounding books that I don’t own 😢😂😂😂 . I’m trying to get free copies but I think are not out in the US yet 😂😂😂 ugh! All of my favorite prizes are from the UK. 🇬🇧

A rare rant from you, up there with your loathing for Updike 😆Thank you, I'll pass on this one. I really wish the Pulitzer had more transparency. I'd love to see the reasoning of the jury. It does rather seem like the jury tried to finagle it so that Night Watch would win, pitting it against two interconnected short story connections - one of which is (from my understanding) only loosely linked with American life.

Sorry you didn't get your way. I read most of the books you would rather have had, but IMO I think the Pulitzer committee made a great choice.

Very convincing and detailed argument against Night Watch.

Thank you for your video, I have the feeling that I would have the same opinion about this book as you. I really appreciate your sincerity about it, I don’t feel that you are suppose to be nice about it. That is why we watch this videos on RU-vid, right? To see different opinions about books. If I don’t like a book, I say it too. Night Watch and the way you feel about it, reminds me my reaction to Norwegian Woods by Murakami, uff I hate that book so much, that I don’t think I would pick another book from the same author ever. I felt much better when I learned that Mario Vargas Llosa share the same opinion like me. Again, thank you for your videos and sincerity, your channel is wonderful!!!

I think they knew if they put any of the more "expected" winners as a finalist, either one would get picked or everyone would complain that they weren't picked but could've been. All of the options had to be lesser known to make sure that wouldn't happen.

Thank you for such a detailed review! I put this book on hold when the prize was announced. Eric Carl Anderson already had me giving it the side eye after his review. I canceled the hold after this one. What a disappointing choice after a year of great books.

Greg -- or anyone else who wants to comment -- I loved Lark and Termite so much; I still think about that book after all these years. What should I do about this one? I'm waiting for a hold to come through from the library, so I haven't invested any money yet. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I've learned a lot about book awards -- the Pulitzer in particular -- from this channel. A major takeaway is that the criteria for awards are even more arbitrary than I once thought. This unfortunately renders a prestigious award almost useless as a signal of whether to read a book.

wow what a great review. one of your best. is it weird that the book sounds so bad i kinda want to read it lol. but i will read your recommendations first.

You should read Same Bed Different Dreams, I loved it and it deserved to be a finalist

I would never have chosen Night Watch (which needed a strong edit,imo) but also would have never chosen Patchett or McDermott. My fave was North Woods which I thought I only liked until a second read convinced me it was definitely my book of the year. The myriad issues surrounding prizes and juries seems to be flummoxing many of us this year. Not just in the literary world, the Chelsea Flower Show courted some controversy with their now quite transparent judging system. So it goes...

I couldn’t agree with you more.

Well I’m glad you braved reading Night Watch so I don’t have to spend $30 bucks buying it! Thanks. I like your other choices for the prize. I’ve read two of the non fiction nominees, The Best Minds and Fire Weather. The Best Minds is so brilliant it was a joy to read, about a friendship between two neighborhood boys, one of whom, although stunningly intelligent, grows up to develop schizophrenia.l and the promise and problem of good intentions. Fire Weather is just plain disturbing about what we are in for because of climate change. But both are very good reads. I recommend them.

Greg, when I saw you fling (or is it hurl?) that book across the room and heard that thud, I thought I hope it doesn't hit Teddy. That would really hurt!

I'm doing a similar project, but reading the booker prize winners, and oooh boy lemme tell you when I hit margaret atwood's the testaments, I wanted to flip that thing out into the bin after I finished it. basically, I feel the emotions and energies you're transmitting here, but appreciate just how eloquent and thorough your analysis is compared to me being like 'BAD PROSE! BAD DIALOGUE! BAD BAD!'

My shameful confession: This author (and book) was so unknown to me that I originally thought is was Jane Ann Krentz. And I was so confused...

I think Phillips won for her body of work rather than for her latest novel.

This book is nominated for my book club next year. Yowza. I'll come out against it!

I had no interest in reading her work before this video… but this sprawling mixed media sebaldian murky book is up my alley. I can see it simultaneously being mind-opening as well as infuriating, and I definitely see the merits of your criticism as well - some of what you’ve described would drive me nuts. I definitely don’t think that some of your picks should have been a Pulitzer winner when the Pulitzer Prize is the most prestigious prize awarded to the best book on literary merits - Let Us Descend received lukewarm praise compared to her other titles that did not win and neither Tom Lake nor Heaven + Earth Grocery does not stray beyond the bounds of conventional fiction. I’m sure they’re all great books but like the Nobel, the Pulitzer is looking for something more. This is sort of like Faulkner - he didn’t win a Pulitzer until much later probably at least in major part because of how experimental his work was. Now, we look back and say - really, no Pulitzer for Faulkner until A Fable (looking forward to your reaction to that barely readable book)? There would be no Toni Morrison without Faulkner but he languished for years in obscurity. I think the Pulitzer judges have this in mind when looking at literature that has lasting literary impact and a writer’s writer often has more of that angle, even if the book is significantly flawed and difficult.

I had just started the audiobook of Night Watchman when I read that it was selected as Pulitzer prize winner. I was pleased because I am a recent fan of Jayne Anne Phillips. The book definitely didn't live up to Phillip's previous novels. Some of the themes had potential to be so much better than they were. Insane asylums were terrible places where women could be committed at the whim of their fathers/husbands.the book made it sound like this was a nice cozy place where some women stayed because they preferred it. That the hospital doctors fell in love with their patients was really icky. So yes, the book was a major disappointment to me and a misstep by the Pulitzer committee.

Literary prizes can't be taken too seriously, imo they are simply another form of ranking by a specific group of ppl, similar to the way educators choose certain books to be featured in curriculums, or other titles to be banned. I shall never understand why some booktubers build their channel focusing on such rankings. However I do appreciate the immense effort you put in to analyze and close read Night Watch!

Well, all I can say is the only good thing about this book being chosen was that it led to this review. Angry Greg is fun to watch, especially since I wholeheartedly agree. (Imagine me interjecting "Yeah!" at various points in your rant. 😉 ) I think I've given up on awards lists, with a few exceptions they seem less and less reflective of the books I'd consider among the best of the year and want to spend my time with. I can't help wondering if the motivations of the judges are without prior bias. Are they rewarding their friends? (We all know that's what most cover blurbs are.) Are they getting a special "You scratch my back I'll scratch yours" from publishers? I don't know. Regardless, although I'll look at lists to see if anything catches my eye (and I'm looking forward to the Booker longlist, so I guess haven't given up completely), they're no longer going to determine my TBR.

Tell us how you really feel about this book!!! Dang. What a difference a year makes. I think I will finish Demon Copperhead before sneaking a peak totally born out of curiosity of how Night Watch came to win. I am skeptical though with the trigger warning about the explicit depiction of the SA. I just finished an audio book The Golden Boy by Abigail Tarttelin with a disturbingly detailed SA scene in this story about an intersex teen. I think theses scenes do not need to be so graphic to get the point across. I knew little about the book other than a booktuber highly recommended it as an audio book. The narration was excellent but lowered my rating overall due to this flaw in my mind. Glad you are back home safely from your trip. It looks like you and Joel had a great time. Be well. ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 Happy Pride Month 🥰

Yiyun Li is an outstanding author & should def win a pulitzer one day, though unsure if she’d be ur cup of tea just from what you post on the channel (i think you said u didnt like/finish Where reasons end, that’s why im saying this haha not tryingto say like omg she’s so above you or anything 😂)

I don’t mind when the Pulitzer awards the prize to a book no one has heard off; but it has to be a good book. I can’t remember who it was who read and reviewed it on booktube last year? I do remember they didn’t like it. I don’t know why the Pulitzer does that and it’s not the first time. Who is on the judging panel? Are any of them under 90 yrs old?

I read Night Watch after it won, and enjoyed it, I found it interesting, but yes, it won't make my favourite reads this year and I'm not sure it was worthy of the Pulitzer Prize. If it hadn't won the Prize it wouldn't have really come to my attention at all. I'm not American and not invested in the prize at all but I take enough notice that I'll generally read the winner.

🎶 noooobody does it bettttter 🎶 Of course I am referring to your book tossing skills. Well, the book sounds truly awful. If I weren't already convinced not to read it, knowing that one of my pet peeves is well-represented ("let me just randomly shoehorn in some stuff I found while researching but can't find a place for" info dumps) will do nicely.

you tossed it!!!

Didn’t get this award at all. Have read several positive reviews, still don’t get it.

Totally trust you and won't be reading this one... Lots of questions about the Pulitzer prize and board itself, and where we are going from here...

🍿 🍿…

I had this on my TBR and it has been swiftly removed. I’ve often wondered why you’re so keen on the Pulitzer? It sounds to me like it’s a book award managed by a bunch of people who are well behind the times - and the views of us minions….

I think book prize juries/boards who are supposed to be awarding for the best book, have to fiercely resist the temptation to give a lifetime achievement award. The Booker in the 90's/00's went through a phase of this when I was a young reader, Amsterdam by Ian McEwan and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle won even though they are those respective authors worst books. For me I completely lost trust in the Booker and it is only in recent times I've come back to an interest in their longlist.

You fail to mention that it was longlisted for the National Book Award, a Best of the Year from the New Yorker, and received a star review from Kirkus. In all fairness . . .

Authors who insist on using graphic depictions of sexual assault always make me very leery. I've read books that have included assault scenes that were not graphic at all and not exploitative and yet still managed to get across the gravity and horror of it in a way that felt like someone wanting people to understand what that experience can do to a victim. The more gratuitous and drawn-out it gets, the more it becomes clear that the author doesn't give a damn about victims, only shock value.

Honestly, one of my least favorite books I have read. I felt emotionally manipulated without any payoff. I agree with so much of what you said. I liked the Pulitzer picks for non-fiction so much, it is a shame they went this way for fiction.

I have lost faith in the Pulitzer.

Arrrrgh! The "career win" strikes again. Or so it would seem to me ('me' being a guy who hasn't even read the book...). Does a future 'career winner' lurk among authors of the deserving but overlooked novels of 2023? Do "career wins" help an author? Should we all have just read "Lark & Termite" instead? 🤷🏼‍♂ Gotta keep reminding myself: “A book read by a thousand different people is a thousand different books.” ― Andrei Tarkovsky

The first Saw movie is high art; the rest not so much

Yeah, I have no interest at all in this book, and you and Eric CA both having angry rants about it hasn't increased my interest! 😂 On the other two finalists, I've been somewhat interested in Yiyun Li's books (newest hadn't been on my radar, though), but haven't ever actually gotten to one, and I did just finish *Same Bed, Different Dreams* , which I did really enjoy, but I'm not sure is a Greg book, as like *Biography of X* it plays with alternate history (not so much SciFi; the most is a shadowy Google-esque company who's inserting AI and tracking type stuff into everyone's lives). The one Pulitzer winner I'm very interested in this year is *Liliana's Invincible Summer* by Cristina Rivera Garza, which won for Memoir/Autobiography. I'm guessing each category has a different jury deciding the winners?

I enjoy your channel as one of the best on fiction and respect and often share your opinions. Even when I don’t, I find them thought-provoking and fair. But I have to say I was shocked and dismayed by this one. There is more than enough hatred in the world but I never expected to find it here, however honest yours for Night Watch is. While I don’t entirely disagree with your criticisms- they are fair- your tone and tossing of both the book and all of the author’s past work, much of it unread, is not. And hate has no place in fair and constructive criticism. I understand your frustration with the Pulitzer and judges but felt you were more fair to it and them than the author of the book chosen. Whatever Jane Anne Phillips mistakes and faults in Night Watch, choosing it to win the Pulitzer was not one of them. You went too far IMHO, but everyone makes mistakes, and I’m not dismissing your past and future good work because of it. Just felt compelled to say this, and I seldom am so moved to do so. And I hope you will understand why I did.

such a disappointing choice ....couldn't even get halfway into it

I know you love the Pulitzer, but it’s the least favorite of my book awards. I honestly don’t pay attention. Give me the NBA, Booker any day

Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips is a masterful novel and fully deserving of the Pulitzer Prize. You are dead wrong. It's better than any of the other novels you mentioned, and yes, I've read many of the other contenders. You went in not liking the novel because it wasn't one of your favorites and thus read it hating it. Poor, poor review.

I read it early. It made me feel like a watchman in zoo hapinscan of people who didn't get a chance to say I don't want to belong here It also felt unsafe to all the people reading a unreadable old road map. Scarred, tissues are like a very old key that well worn didn't fit key hole it was meant for. Feels like it was meant to be put away for another time until whenever....

This is Greg. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-38tfhSYGIVs.htmlfeature=shared My Lord Greg, you roasted Phillips. I hope she never finds this review. She might need antidepressants or alcohol.

I’m so disappointed to hear this. I’ve watched other reviews as well and they also describe how this book fails. I ran out and bought it the day it won as that excited me. The premise of mental illness and the results of trauma that is the reality of war and the civil war, I felt is a very important issue to me. But now I’m hesitant to read it. I hate gratuitous violence for the sake of shock value or to make a point with a sledgehammer Perhaps she should have written a nonfiction book on these subjects.. I’m going to have to think about this.

You are obviously not as well read as you think.

Hey there. I found your channel while you were watching the Pulitzer winners and I was just coming from a person who had just been talking g about Night Watch in particular- so weird! They abhorred it. I don’t think I’ve ever known them to use the word hate before especially in regard to a book. So it was especially strange to not only hear the title 2 times in one day but to go from “I hated it” from a friend who loves reading everything to your video it was quite the sign for me. I won’t read it myself. Just reading its plot and my friend’s recount of it, it sounds like a desperate attempt at an author to grasp on to a glory she once enjoyed and honestly like a soap opera (btw I’m not a huge fan of East of Eden either. It’s a soap opera.) My real concern though is how this Pulitzer panel did the author no favors whatsoever. When a beloved, well respected actor receives an Oscar for a performance that we all know is most likely for a role they SHOULD have won for or for an extensive brilliant body of work- we can all agree that their work is in fact brilliant, that they’re Oscar worthy actors and almost everyone is quite familiar with most if not all of their performances and movies. This is a far cry from that. First, she IS an obscure author and I must ask why is that? She’s been writing since the 70’s and too many well read people aren’t truly familiar with her books? Now that she’s been acknowledged with such a high honor, for a book that so far not one positive reaction can be found, and the expected scathing reviews and responses to come for this (I’m sorry but just seeing those pages of unnecessary lists and pictures were an eyesore to both my friend and I) sorry showing? For a Pulitzer?? The amount of backlash and scrutiny she will receive and her friends student’s family members all have to endure with her is staggering to think of. To know you won an award that very few believe you deserve on such a high level platform? I wouldn’t wish that for anyone. I stopped following the Pulitzer a few years ago. I don’t like such an opaque approach to extending such a high honor and for there to be no rhyme nor reason nor methodology to it. It’s a prize that’s turned whimsical and unserious, and actually now more than ever a pretentious flight of fancy based on a whim. I love your channel and your deep insight into the books you discuss. Which is funny because I rarely read modern fiction. But your presentation is so knowledgeable and so engaging that I just ordered North Woods. Thank you for your honesty. It is so damn refreshing! Well done! ✌🏻💙📚

Golden review and analysis. 🤎