Esi Edugyan is still taking it all in.
B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 know what to anticipate really,B次元官网网址� Edugyan says. B次元官网网址淭his is the first time anything this large has ever happened to me, so IB次元官网网址檓 just going with it and seeing what happens, and really IB次元官网网址檓 just thrilled.B次元官网网址�
The thrills are the result of EdugyanB次元官网网址檚 inclusion on the longlist for the Man Booker prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world. The 拢50,000 ($77,000 CDN) prize recognizes the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 longlist, known as the B次元官网网址淏ooker Dozen,B次元官网网址� features three Canadian authors including Edugyan, who calls Victoria home. The writer is nominated for her second novel, Half-Blood Blues.
For Edugyan, the recognition is a validation of sorts. After her manuscript for a novel about a pianist failed to garner any attention from publishers, the author had to recommit to her craft.
B次元官网网址淚 thought, B次元官网网址榦kay, IB次元官网网址檓 a writer, itB次元官网网址檚 an inescapable fate, thereB次元官网网址檚 no getting out of it,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Edugyan says, B次元官网网址渆ven though in the back of your head youB次元官网网址檙e thinking B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 not that old, maybe I could still study law or medicine or something.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�
Fast forward to last weekB次元官网网址檚 longlist annoucement, and itB次元官网网址檚 clear the effort was worthwhile. Edugyan has experienced a flurry of emotions since hearing the news.
B次元官网网址淚 had a few days where I didnB次元官网网址檛 believe it,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e just sitting there in shock and youB次元官网网址檙e not thinking about it and then itB次元官网网址檒l just occur to you at some point in the day and youB次元官网网址檙e like, B次元官网网址極h, my God!B次元官网网址� Now IB次元官网网址檓 just at this place where IB次元官网网址檓 so happy and content.B次元官网网址�
Half-Blood Blues tells the story of a mixed-race German jazz musician during World War II, and his friendsB次元官网网址� discovery some fifty years later of the truth behind his disappearance.
EdugyanB次元官网网址檚 inspiration for the story sprung from a year-long residency in a 17th-century castle at the Akademie Schloss Solitude in Stuttgart, Germany.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檇 come across an article on - some people called them the B次元官网网址楻hineland bastardsB次元官网网址� - the children of African soldiers and German women, maybe a few years earlier,B次元官网网址� Edugyan says. B次元官网网址淛ust being in Germany I ended up setting aside what I was working on and just looking more and more into the history of black people in those times.B次元官网网址�
Setting the novel in the jazz world was a natural fit for music-loving Edugyan.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 so different from any other form of music, how it developed,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭ransplanting that over to Europe, where it was almost this form of resistance when the Nazis came to power -- all that is so fascinating to me.B次元官网网址�
If being nominated for such a prestigious award wasnB次元官网网址檛 exciting enough for Edugyan, sheB次元官网网址檚 also eight months pregnant with her first child. All in all, the next few months promise to be full of surprises.
B次元官网网址淚 very much wonder how (motherhood) will change my writing,B次元官网网址� Edugyan says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 sure IB次元官网网址檒l have a whole different perspective.B次元官网网址�
Half-Blood Blues has already been released in the U.K., and will go on sale in Canada Sept. 24.
The Man Booker longlist will be shortened to six on Sept. 6, with the winner being announced Oct. 18.
editor@oakbaynews.com
