Click here (or see below) for a giggle, guffaw, chuckle or laugh-out-loud look at blurbs used to describe the works of National Book Award nominees.
National Book AwardsJesse Ball, A Cure for Suicide
Jesse Ball, A Cure for Suicide
beguiling
elegant, spellbinding
subtle and breathtaking
magnetic, suspenseful, occasionally heart-rending
full, satiating
richly adorned with sensuous scenes
Karen E. Bender, Refund
fine, crisp
crackling with energy and wit
vivid, believable
poignant, absorbing
superb
both lean and expansive
absolutely masterful
Bill Clegg, Did You Ever Have a Family
brilliantly constructed
propulsive but tightly crafted
polished, quietly captivating
delicately lyrical and emotionally direct
ineffably sad and deeply inspiring
mesmerizing
wondrous
deeply optimistic…brutally direct
restrained, exquisite, and unexpectedly tender
Angela Flournoy, The Turner House
epic, ambitious, and strikingly executed
cracklingly alive
utterly unsentimental
spare, headstrong
utterly moving and tough as nails
commanding and unputdownable
charming and funny while being whip-smart and profound
Lauren Groff, Fates and Furies
sumptuous
red-hot
surprising, wild, with pockets of calm that build anticipation for the next squall
audacious and gorgeous
deliciously voyeuristic but also wise on the simultaneous comforts and indignities of romantic partnership
Complex, sexy and achingly beautiful
almost-wizardly
lithe and poetic, unrolling like a glimmering carpet to the gray and uncertain territory of her characters’ inner conflicts
Adam Johnson, Fortune Smiles
weird, indelible
audacious
perceptive and brave
long, fearless
rigorously limber
wise, poignant and important
superb ... explosive
alive and limitless
slightly surreal
sinewy
T. Geronimo Johnson, Welcome to Braggsville
oh-my-God-listen-up
even tragic, in the most classic meaning of the word
amusing…unpredictable
madcap, satirical
profane
uncanny
deeply pleasurable
deeply disturbing
ghastly
thoroughgoing and extreme
orgiastic
Edith Pearlman, Honeydew
vinegary
acidic
droll
set down like a light footprint that nevertheless fixes itself in one's memory as though pressed in wet cement
tender and distant
like entering the jet stream of some stranger's life
wise, yes, but also unfailingly generous
refreshingly loose
intricately imagined
warmly imagined
Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life
surprisingly subversive
elemental, irreducible, dark, and disturbing
frequently stomach-churning
shrewd
wondrous
harrowing
stunning
audacious
audacious
audacious
audacious
Nell Zink, Mislaid
giddy, lunatic, perverse, and irresistible
penetrating and agile
lucid
sly, low-affect
as absurd and hilarious as it is tragic and seeing
hilarious and genius
refreshingly eccentric
wickedly humorous
beautifully braided into understated prose
outlandish
zany
zany-brainy
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