Tournament of Books discussion

Sorry this is getting up late today! To close out round 2 and our 2nd week of the ToF, we have a judgement from Kyle:

"There are worse things than having to judge between two very good books, especially when they each have such different styles and aims. “The Bandit Queens” is a story of a woman in a small town in India; “North Woods” is the story of a house in upstate New York. I really, truly enjoyed both.

“Bandit Queens” is about women. Women who, in their society, have been dealt a bad hand. Geeta, our heroine, might seem to have the rawest deal of all - her husband departed years ago, and the rest of her village believes she's murdered him. She’s learned to survive mostly independently, though the shunning by her former best friend still stings. That independent streak comes to an end, though, when another woman being mistreated by her husband comes to Geeta for advice: how should she get rid of her own husband? The topics of spousal abuse and murder might seem a little dark, but the book actually manages to be fairly funny--I’d almost compare it to a classic screwball comedy by the end as events spiral out of control. It’s a really, really fun book.

North Woods, on the other hand, is about a house. From its humble beginnings as the ramshackle shed of two runaways, it becomes the home of a famed apple orchard, the site of a grisly crime, an abandoned manse frequented by a local-legend cougar. Each section of the book is written in a different style, and there are even little interstitials like real estate listings or folk ballads that contribute to the story. The book even dips its toe a little into the supernatural: what good is an old house without a ghost to haunt it, after all? Overall, the breadth and variety of this book really sold me on it; though the structure and conceit of the book might have seemed like a gimmick, each part was memorable and distinct.

I choose “North Woods” to go forward. "

I liked "Bandits" and LOVED "North Woods", so I applaud this judgment. NW was one of my two favorites in the tournament (the other, "Wellness", alas, was knocked out in Round 1). May it go all the way.

Thanks for your judgment, Kyle! It would be hard for most books to compete against the expansiveness of North Woods. I did love the lyricism of The Bandit Queens, it was so fun to read, and I actually think I enjoyed the story more than North Woods while I was in it. (There were times while I was reading NW that I wished it were shorter.) But it didn’t quite match the skillfulness of Mason’s construction. Not at all surprised it’s made it this far, and I bet it would have zombied even if it hadn’t.

(North Woods was 3rd in the zombie poll.)

Chrissy wrote: "(North Woods was 3rd in the zombie poll.)"

Ooh, surprised it came behind Birnam Wood!

I'm surprised I liked 'The Bandit Queens' as much as I did, since I love humor, though not when it involves murder. Death, sure, but not murder. It's a solid book. I look forward to 'North Woods'!.... somewhere down the line!