Over at Bookslut they’re already debating the best books of ‘05. Mike is pitching A Changed Man by Francine Prose. No, that’s her real name. If you can get past the crap cover, it is the story of an ex-skin head who joins a Jewish anti-defamation-type group so that kids don’t become what he was, and he becomes famous in the process. Jessa is getting behind Paradise by AL Kennedy. It’s about an alcoholic woman who is on a downward spiral, but it’s funny and beautiful, too. The usually staid Amazon product description contains this:
When a dull neighbor asks Hannah Luckraft what she does for a living, Hannah can barely refrain from answering honestly: “Oh, a little theft, monstrosity, credit-card fraud, and my hobbies include giving blow jobs to unpleasant men while I’m semi-unconscious. I also drink a lot.”
So there you go. I myself am locked in combat with a book that was widely regarded last year, that maybe I’m not getting. I’m not backing down, and I’ll be back with the full report soon.