The Shining Company of Oscar Wao
Posted by: Courtney
The Children’s Literature Association bestowed the Phoenix Award on Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel, The Shining Company (1992). Wondering why the Phoenix award is named the Phoenix? Behold:
The Phoenix Award is named after the fabled bird that rose from its ashes with renewed life and beauty. Phoenix books also rise from the ashes of neglect and obscurity and once again touch the imaginations and enrich the lives of those who read them.
The award is given to a noteworthy English language book that hasn’t won any major awards, some twenty years after its original publication.
Meanwhile, Junot Diaz is somewhere doing a dance of joy. According to The Millions blog, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao has, with the IMPAC Dublin Award nomination, become one of the most highly praised novels in the last 15 years. Wao is in the top four modern classics, with the No. 1 slot is occupied by Edward P. Jones’ The Known World. Titles quickly scaling the list include: The Secret Scripture, Olive Kitteridge, Home, The Lazarus Project, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, and Animal’s People.
