tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post4519192655885011343..comments2023-10-30T12:15:11.709+00:00Comments on Dirty/Realistic: 50 best novels of the 2000s: 10 to 6Stuart Evershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18437316615394546533noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-4481772329364584782010-10-12T12:30:37.532+01:002010-10-12T12:30:37.532+01:00Unless would be in my top 5. I loved it so much I ...Unless would be in my top 5. I loved it so much I felt disappointed by The Stone Diaries, which is also brilliant, more epic and was probably harder to write. <br /><br />QRGAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-17762070596549045952009-11-26T16:31:28.153+00:002009-11-26T16:31:28.153+00:00I agree Penny, I don't get why Waters is rated...I agree Penny, I don't get why Waters is rated so highly (though I did enjoy <em>Fingersmith</em> and <em>The Little Stranger</em> - but I wouldn't put it any higher than 'enjoyed').<br /><br />Broadly I also agree with Scott Pack (though I wouldn't put it in quite his terms), in that I find most of Stuart's selections - the ones I've read anyway - either bang on (Lasdun, McCarthy x 2, Auster, Roth, Ozick, Rhodes etc) or ones that I would probably put in my bottom 50 for the decade (Niffenegger, Shields, Kunzru, Adiga) - but that's what these lists are all about, isn't it?John Selfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05761816149593541133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-81786594308897872382009-11-25T21:24:54.721+00:002009-11-25T21:24:54.721+00:00I do agree with most of your other choices, though...I do agree with most of your other choices, though (the ones I've read). And it's a bloody hard list to compile. Looking forward to the top 5!Penelope Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02521214664420665570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-21266439251384711442009-11-25T21:23:50.002+00:002009-11-25T21:23:50.002+00:00I can't quite believe you rated The Night Watc...I can't quite believe you rated The Night Watch so highly. I'm a little thrown. Feel like I've been winded. Yes, it creates an excellent sense of place. And, yes, the characters are convincing and well-drawn. But number 6? Really? I wouldn't say the structure was impressive at all. I felt she was trying to make quite a boring story a little more interesting by chopping around the sequencing (which is not a new trick), and, for me at least, it didn't work. The whole thing just felt unfinished.Penelope Pricehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02521214664420665570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-5587440349475834672009-11-25T21:00:53.560+00:002009-11-25T21:00:53.560+00:00Yes that is the competition. The rules are that th...Yes that is the competition. The rules are that there is only one book per author (now). They must have been originally published in the UK between 2000 and 2009 and have to be the five that I have chosen. In a tie break situation, the closest to the correct order will be take into account.Stuart Evershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18437316615394546533noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8236523682335771051.post-47969330269320974532009-11-25T20:57:22.254+00:002009-11-25T20:57:22.254+00:00I've read all of 10-6 - all excellent choices....I've read all of 10-6 - all excellent choices. And as one of the people who have read 'Safety of Sunday' I must disagree with you when you say it's a sack of shit. It had its problems but these were heavily outweighed by its moments. And as you argued in the Manchester Guardian the other day what an author says about his own work shouldn't influence what a reader thinks. So I win.<br /><br />And I still agree with you about Saturday.<br /><br />Is the competition to guess which books are in the top 5? If so can you remind us of the rules you imposed on yourself. Until the second Sarah Waters entry I thought you were only allowing one enrty per author - given what you said about umming and ahhing over Paul Auster books. Thanking youOliver Shepherdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04999809902250683208noreply@blogger.com