Recent Reads: This book will win the Pulitzer Prize 

Thanks for the lovely review of my book The Funeral Cryer! 😍

Excellent reviews as always! I did love The Trees and I am looking forward to reading James.

Excellent question on what delineates a successful book from a good book!!! Interesting food for thought

Thank you so so much for reading and including a good happy girl!!

I recently read When the Ground is Hard for my reading around the world. Added The Funeral Cryer and The Husbands to my reading lists. Great reviews as always 😀

I admired James more than loved it. It felt like a clever and important book but it is the first Everett I have read so can't compare with anything else by him. The Funeral Cryer sounds great and you got me interested in the Flanagan. Thanks as ever for sharing your thoughts.

Brilliant, Scott. James has been my best read of the year so far (I also reviewed it some weeks back), and I think you are right on target about all of the prizes that could be coming its way this year and next. I saw an interview some months back-I’m sure you saw it, too-where Everett said he was most definitely writing this novel in conversation with Twain. He also spoke in favor of people continuing to read Huck Finn (as it is often challenged and/or banned in the U.S. today). He said he is writing the novel “that Twain was not ill-equipped but unequipped to write-that being the story of Jim.” He went on to say that he considers himself as being in discourse with Twain. It’s simply the best book I’ve read in a long time! Thanks for these great book reviews, Scott. I have Martyr and haven’t read it yet. Now I’m feeling inspired to get to it soon!

Quibble: Nahuatl is spoken by about 1.5 million people today.

I mean, I've read many a throuple book (with really good representation of them!) but they mostly tend to be very steamy romance books so I do hesitate to recommend them to you. I am glad you enjoyed Martyr and thought it was very good, even though it wasn't perfect by any means. It's one I have on my shelf (theme of grief and martyrdom made it sound like it was made for me) so I am very much looking forward to giving it a go. I have heard good things about the book of mother, and it intrigues me but at the same time I'm not entirely sure it is one for me. I was also very much not convinced by the premise of james, especially as I have never had a molecule of interest in huckleberry finn. But everyone at work loves it, and the outpouring of glowing reviews brought me round and I got myself a copy. So I will read it eventually -- I don't think it is a priority for me, but I am so so curious now knowing you love it just as much as everyone else.

I also hated Dr No and thought The Trees was just fine, mostly because Everett hits us over the head with his satire. It's so obvious it's annoying. But James is something else, much more subtle and thought provoking. I thought James was excellent.

I’ll be adding the book of mother to my tbr

This is the first time I've heard of The Funeral Cryer. And now I can't wait to read it! Thanks for a great video!

James is my fourth Percival Everett. I love the way his mind works and how versatile he is as a writer.

As always these are incredible reviews. The Husbands is going on my TBR right now. I have had James on my list for a while and I am really excited to get to it!

Glad you liked James.

I’ve been waiting for these reviews! 💓

Thx . love your reviews

love your work

We agree on something!!!! I LOOOOOOOOVED James as well. But I also loved The Trees.

I’m currently reading Martyr!

I have the audiobook for The Husbands. I'm up for a book that doesn't take itself too seriously!

Damn I thought A Good Happy Girl was going to be the Pulitzer one 😂

Love your reviews! There's a lot of books on this list I want to read. Just a note: Pajtim Statovci is from Kosovo, not Bosnia.

I'll give When the Ground is Hard a try - I love reading books from tiny countries I know nothing about. Currently reading Catherine the Great and the Small by Montenegrin author Olja Knežević. So far I really enjoy the way it's written. I'd say most people have never even heard of Montenegro but I visited a few years ago and it's absolutely stunning.

In Irish culture, attitudes to death are very different. We have wakes. The coffin is there & usually open. Over 3 days neighbours and friends visit. They bring food, drink tea and talk. So death is part of life here.

Unfortunately James didn’t win the Pulitzer. Watch Eric @lonesomereader and Greg @supposedlyfun talk about the book that did win…..that they both hated.