2017 Kirkus Prize Longlist

The Kirkus Prize is a $50,000 prize sponsored by Kirkus Reviews.  Finalists are chosen from books that earned a Kirkus Star which is given to books of “exceptional merit.”  I do not find the reviews in the magazine to be especially thorough or insightful, tending more towards plot summary than literary analysis.  Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between Sept. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2017 are automatically nominated for the 2017 Kirkus Prize.  See the fiction list at https://www.kirkusreviews.com/prize/nominees/fiction/.

The list is extensive; there are 423 titles on the list.  A shortlist of six should be released sometime in the near future.  The winner will be announced on Nov. 2, 2017.

Here are my reviews of the books which I have read on the longlist:

The Golden House by Salman Rushdie:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/09/review-ot-golden-house-by-salman.html

The Witches of New York by Ami McKay:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2016/10/review-of-witches-of-new-york-by-ami.html

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/01/review-of-essex-serpent-by-sarah-perry.html

Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/04/review-of-anything-is-possible-by.html

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/08/review-of-lincoln-in-bardo-by-george.html

Idaho by Emily Ruskovich:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/01/review-of-idaho-by-emily-ruskovich-new.html

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2017/08/review-of-history-of-wolves-by-emily.html

These are the Names by Tommy Wieringa:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2016/12/review-of-these-are-names-by-tommy.html

Do not Say we have Nothing by Madeleine Thien:  https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.ca/2016/10/review-of-do-not-say-we-have-nothing-by.html