LA Times Book Prize Nominees of the Fictional Sort

LA Times Book Prize Fiction Nominees

There are some juicy picks - and even a few underdogs - among the nominees of the two fiction categories for the LA Times Book Prizes that will be awarded later this month. While the National Book Award often goes to the obvious front-runner and Pulitzers (go Diaz!) rarely surprise, the LA Times Book Prize winners are never a sure thing, which is what makes following them all the more fun.

In the Fiction category, you've got:

• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
  
• Be Near Me by Andrew O’Hagan
  
• Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O’Nan
  
• Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
  
• The Shadow Catcher: A Novel by Marianne Wiggins

Nearly everyone we know thinks Junot Diaz is the front-runner, the shoo-in, the man of the hour. Yet the Book Prizes have a history of favoring their own and we wonder if The Shadow Catcher by Marianne Wiggins (Professor of English at USC) won’t sneak in and steal the nod. There has been much talk of Petterson’s Out Stealing Horses, and we’re a big fan not only of the novel but of works in translation (it was translated from the Norwegian by Anne Born) and works from small presses (published by Graywolf Press) so a Petterson win would be quite sweet. Yet we can't quite count O'Nan out as his character, Manny, and his job at the local Red Lobster is funny and smart and imminently enjoyable.