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Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - 1948-2007: How many have you read?

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Old 05-01-07, 08:26 PM
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Pulitzer Prize for Fiction - 1948-2007: How many have you read?

2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2006: March by Geraldine Brooks

2005: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

2004: The Known World by Edward P. Jones

2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo

2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

2000: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham

1998: American Pastoral by Philip Roth

1997: Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser

1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford

1995: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx

1993: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler

1992: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley,

1991: Rabbit At Rest by John Updike

1990: The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos

1989: Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler

1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison

1987: A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor

1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

1985: Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie

1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy

1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker

1982: Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike

1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

1979: The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever

1978: Elbow Room by James Alan McPherson

1977: no award given

1976: Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow

1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

1974: The fiction jury had unanimously recommended the 1974 award to Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow, but the Pulitzer board, which has sole discretion for awarding the prize, made no award.

1973: The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty

1972: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

1971: no award given

1970: The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford by Jean Stafford

1969: House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday

1968: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron

1967: The Fixer by Bernard Malamud

1966: The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter by Katherine Anne
Porter

1965: The Keepers of the House by Shirley Ann Grau

1964: no award given

1963: The Reivers by William Faulkner

1962: The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1960: Advise and Consent by Allen Drury

1959: The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters by Robert Lewis Taylor

1958: A Death in the Family by James Agee

1957: no award given

1956: Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor

1955: A Fable by William Faulkner

1954: no award given

1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

1952: The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk

1951: The Town by Conrad Richter

1950: The Way West by A. B. Guthrie, Jr.

1949: Guard of Honor by James Gould Cozzens

1948: Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener



Of course, I had The Caine Mutiny, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Old Man and the Sea as required reading in high school.

On my own, I've only read Empire Falls & A Confederacy of Dunces.
Old 05-02-07, 12:38 PM
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2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford

1991: Rabbit At Rest by John Updike

1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy

1982: Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike

1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

more than i thought but maybe less than i should have - the ones i have read do have real staying power though, especially Ironweed and The Road.
Old 05-02-07, 01:29 PM
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Uh oh, I've only read one :

2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Why were there some years with no award given?
Old 05-02-07, 03:59 PM
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2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
Old 05-02-07, 04:01 PM
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Why were there some years with no award given?
According to the Pulitzer website:

Why in some years was there no award given in a particular category?

According to The Plan of Award "If in any year all the competitors in any category shall fall below the standard of excellence fixed by The Pulitzer Prize Board, the amount of such prize or prizes may be withheld."
Old 05-02-07, 04:15 PM
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Just The Old Man and the Sea and To Kill a Mockingbird for school.
Old 05-02-07, 05:42 PM
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2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham

1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison

1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Old 05-02-07, 06:31 PM
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1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Old 05-03-07, 08:01 AM
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The Road and House Made of Dawn.
Old 05-03-07, 08:29 AM
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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and To Kill a Mockingbird I've read on my own. The Color Purple was a high school assignment.
Old 05-03-07, 10:59 AM
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1948: Tales of the South Pacific by James A. Michener
1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1968: The Confessions of Nat Turner by William Styron
1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer
1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1992: A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1997: Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo
2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Old 05-03-07, 12:20 PM
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Old man and the Sea, and To Kill a Mockingbird from HS.
Old 05-04-07, 02:57 PM
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1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Pitiful. I stumbled onto a first edition of "The Road" in a B&N today so that will soon be added to my list. I should make more of an effort as two of my favorite books are on that short list. If you're wondering, "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Lonesome Dove". Can anyone strongly recommend others on the Pulitzer list?
Old 05-04-07, 03:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy
Can anyone strongly recommend others on the Pulitzer list?
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
Old 05-05-07, 06:34 PM
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Fun topic. I'm excited to read The Road; next on my list!


2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

2002: Empire Falls by Richard Russo

2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham

1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford

1984: Ironweed by William Kennedy

1982: Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike

1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

1980: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

1979: The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever

1974: (blah blah blah) Gravity's Rainbow

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Old 05-05-07, 10:08 PM
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Wow, I'm pathetic.


2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford,

1991: Rabbit At Rest by John Updike

1982: Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike

1976: Humboldt's Gift by Saul Bellow

1967: The Fixer by Bernard Malamud (I have it, it's on my read list)

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

1954: no award given

1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

Thanks for putting up the list, I see what I should read now.
From what I've read, I can see that the Pulitzer don't necessarily award their author's best books (with the exception of Bellow), but that's not really their fault I guess.
Old 05-05-07, 10:10 PM
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Great topic, this thread has actually sparked an exciting new project for my wife and I.

I threw out that I read this thread and thought it might be fun to go back and read all the Fiction Pulitzers. My wife took it to another level by suggesting that we seek out and purchase all the fiction Pulitzers and build our own collection. She has already spent a few hours on cursory investigation into the purchasing the set. Thankfully, I've pulled her back on her original suggestion of seeking out First Editions...

We have The Hours, Lonesome Dove, Killer Angels, and The Road.
Old 05-13-07, 08:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Charlie Goose
1996: Independence Day by Richard Ford


Hmm....
Old 05-13-07, 08:49 PM
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I've read 29, including everything 1980-96. These days I seem to be getting only every other year, so I'll have to work on that.

I should make more of an effort as two of my favorite books are on that short list. If you're wondering, "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Lonesome Dove". Can anyone strongly recommend others on the Pulitzer list?
Here's another rec for Kavalier and Clay, which is just great. But also based on the two you list, I'd recommend Empire Falls and Independence Day. Russo's and Ford's writing styles are both similar to McMurtry's. Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres is terrific (disregard the mediocre film). And Peter Taylor's A Summons to Memphis is a nice southern novel, like To Kill a Mockingbird. Not quite as good, but what is?

Last edited by Shack; 05-13-07 at 08:59 PM.
Old 05-14-07, 12:16 AM
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I've read only To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my all time favorite books. I've got Kavalier and Clay on my bookshelf and I'll be picking that one up next probably.
Old 05-14-07, 07:19 PM
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Originally Posted by Nth Power
Why were there some years with no award given?
According to Wikipedia, re: Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow:

In 1974, the three-member Pulitzer Prize jury on fiction supported Gravity's Rainbow for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. However, the other eleven members of the board overturned this decision, branding the book "unreadable, turgid, overwritten, and obscene."

cheers,

-the Jesus
Old 05-14-07, 07:48 PM
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I read a lot but I don't read any fiction... I guess that has to change!

That being said, here is my list:

1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Old 05-22-07, 08:08 AM
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2007: The Road by Cormac McCarthy - reading now
2003: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
1998: American Pastoral by Philip Roth
1994: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx
1988: Beloved by Toni Morrison
1986: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
1983: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
1981: A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

I haven't been able to do much reading for leisure over the past year, but hope to be able to over the summer.
Old 05-22-07, 09:50 AM
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Haven't read many of these...

2001: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
1999: The Hours by Michael Cunningham
1975: The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
1961: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
1953: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
1952: The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
Old 05-22-07, 10:07 AM
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2 for me: A Confederacy of Dunces and To Kill a Mockingbird.


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