The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

While I don't plan on making a thread for each of these books, I do want us to have a place where we can talk about the books that were up for the award in any given year, particularly as it's fun to look at a year's output, see the books we once thought we'd read but that have been buried. Here is the 2012 Winner, Shortlist, and Longlist:

- Stone Upon Stone by Wiesław Myśliwski, translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston

- Lightning by Jean Echenoz, translated from the French by Linda Coverdale
- Upstaged by Jacques Jouet, translated from the French by Leland de la Durantaye
- Kornél Esti by Kosztolányi Dezső, translated from the Hungarian by Bernard Adams
- I Am a Japanese Writer by Dany Laferrière, translated from the French by David Homel
- New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani, translated from the Italian by Judith Landry
- Scars by Juan José Saer, translated from the Spanish by Steve Dolph
- Kafka's Leopards by Moacyr Scliar, translated from the Portuguese by Thomas O. Beebee
- In Red by Magdalena Tulli, translated from the Polish by Bill Johnston
- Never Any End to Paris by Enrique Vila-Matas, translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean

- Leeches by David Albahari, translated from the Serbian by Ellen Elias-Bursać
- My Two Worlds by Sergio Chejfec, translated from the Spanish by Margaret B. Carson
- Demolishing Nisard by Eric Chevillard, translated from the French by Jordan Stump
- Private Property by Paule Constant, translated from the French by Margot Miller and France Grenaudier-Klijn
- Zone by Mathias Énard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell
- Buzz Aldrin, What Happened to You in All the Confusion? by Johan Harstad, translated from the Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin
- Fiasco by Imre Kertész, translated from the Hungarian by Tim Wilkinson
- Montecore by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles
- Suicide by Edouard Levé, translated from the French by Jan Steyn
- Purgatory by Tomás Eloy Martínez, translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne
- Scenes from Village Life by Amos Oz, translated from the Hebrew by Nicholas de Lange
- The Shadow-Boxing Woman by Inka Parei, translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire
- Funeral for a Dog by Thomas Pletzinger, translated from the German by Ross Benjamin
- Seven Years by Peter Stamm, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann
- The Truth about Marie by Jean-Philippe Toussaint, translated from the French by Matthew B. Smith

I read quite a bit this year, including almost the entire shortlist. Still haven't read Zone, though, and I feel bad about that. I think I'll get around to a few of the others, but this is not a year where my blindspots are demanding to be read.

Stone Upon Stone is my pick for the winner this year as well, though I read it well after it had won the prize.

1. Stone Upon Stone
2. Kornel Esti
3. Demolishing Nisard
4. Fiasco
5. Scars
6. Kafka's Leopards
7. Never Any End to Paris
8. My Two Worlds
9. Lightning
10. New Finnish Grammar
11. Upstaged
12. Suicide

Stone upon Stone was one of those books that just passed me by. I wanted to love it, and I have even recommended to others I think would enjoy it, but I just found it rather dull. And oddly I loved Gilead and liked Stoner, the two books you reference in your review.

I think sometimes it can even be as simple as what mood one is in when reading a book. One of those books I should perhaps revisit except life is too short and the TBR pile too long.

Zone for me from this list, or Leeches. Actually looking at the list, not one of the stronger years.