National Book Award Finalists Announced

The finalists for the National Book Awards were announced this past Wednesday, one month before the winners will be named at a ceremony in Manhattan.  In the fiction category, the finalists are:

The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner

The year is 1977 when Reno heads to New York, hoping to make art with her fascination of motorcycles.  After befriending some artists/squatters in not-yet-chic Soho, she ends up falling for the scion of an Italian motorcycle empire and travels to Italy, where she's drawn into the radical movement there.

The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

Subhash and Udayan Mitra, brothers born 15 months apart, couldn't be more different: Udayan joins the insurgent Naxalite movement, while Subhash conducts scientific research in America. But when tragedy strikes, Subhash must return home to Calcutta.

The Good Lord Bird by James McBride

Henry Shackleford, a child slave, must flee with abolitionist John Brown after Brown clashes with Henry's master. Complicating matters even further, Brown thinks Henry is a girl, a disguise Henry maintains up to the bold raid on Harpers Ferry.           

Bleeding Edge by Thomas Pynchon

Maxine Tarnow, a fraud investigator, finds herself caught up in an eccentric underworld of New York City after looking into the finances of a billionaire computer geek.

Tenth of December by George Saunders

George Saunders, an undisputed master of the short story creates his most honest, accessible, and moving collection yet.   The collection includes "Home," a story about a soldier's return home from war; "Victory Lap," about an abduction attempt; and the title story, in which a cancer patient on the verge of suicide ends up saving the life of a young misfit.

Click here to view the finalists in all categories.