In the fifteenth year of the Orange Prize, the debate over the world’s first literary prize exclusively for women has shifted. It used to be about men grumbling that women didn’t need a prize of their own; now the complaints sound suspiciously as though the Orange is working so well that the men would also like a prize just to themselves.
Tough, since even today the Orange, by spotlighting five to six brilliant and often overlooked books by women each year, underlines how much publishing and literary prizes are still a man’s domain. Here are five great Orange winners who should be essential reading:
Carol Shields (Larry’s Party, 1998): Shields won her gong in the third year of the Orange Prize. She was well-known for The Stone Diaries, and the sweetly funny Larry’s Party wasn’t her best — but winning the Orange made her work accessible to a new generation of readers. Unless, her last novel, didn’t win the Orange but it forms the best argument for the Prize, arguing that tiny, domestic themes are just as much the stuff of literature as larger, more “masculine” subjects.
Andrea Levy, (Small Island, 2004): Levy’s The Long Song, a slave’s-eye-view, came out this year to respectful reviews, but it’s Small Island that really captured our imaginations. Set in post-World War II England, it’s a look at that time through the eyes of Caribbean migrants. Levy’s fourth book was her big breakthrough, both in terms of finding her audience, and finding her voice as a writer.
Lionel Shriver, (We Need to Talk About Kevin, 2005): There has seldom been such a controversial novel in the history of any prize. Shriver’s tale of school shootings and an alienated, monstrously difficult child took on our last contemporary myth — the myth that maternal love is unconditional and natural. It is also perhaps the best novel ever to be written about the peculiarly 21st century dilemma of surviving a personal tragedy that’s playing out in full public glare.
Marilynne Robinson, (Home, 2009): The companion novel to Home, Gilead was a surprising omission from the 2004 Orange shortlist — but Home made Robinson an icon. Through the lives of the Boughton family — a preacher father, an alcoholic son — what Robinson brought to her writing was craft; but it was also wisdom. These remain among the best, and best-loved, novels of the 21st century.
Barbara Kingsolver, (The Lacuna, 2010): The Lacuna is Kingsolver’s most ambitious novel — her best would probably still be The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver’s fierce political views and her revisioning of history run through the novel. Hillary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, the much-lauded historical novel about Thomas Cromwell, was considered the front runner for the prize, and Wolf Hall remains the more entertaining, gripping book. But The Lacuna is a reminder that a really great writer often brings her conscience to her writing.
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The Davidar case: David Davidar’s exit from Penguin Canada, after sexual harassment charges were filed against him by a colleague, is one of the biggest, and messiest, publishing stories of the year. Here’s a timeline of events:
Early 2004: Davidar, then CEO of Penguin India, leaves to join Penguin Canada as publisher.
2007: Lisa Rundle is promoted to rights and contracts director, Penguin Canada.
2009: Davidar named CEO of Penguin International and president of Penguin Canada.
October 2009, Frankfurt: According to Lisa Rundle’s statement of claims, Davidar comes to her hotel room and sexually assaults her after she rejects his advances. She does not file charges at this time.
May 2010: Lisa Rundle leaves her job; it is unclear whether she resigns or is asked to quit.
June 8, 2010: Penguin Canada announces that David Davidar will be leaving to pursue his writing career.
June 9, 2010: Lisa Rundle files a $100,000 suit for sexual harassment charges against Davidar personally and a $423,000 suit for wrongful termination claims against Penguin Canada.
June 11, 2010: Davidar issues a statement saying he is “utterly shocked” by the allegations, acknowledging that he was asked to quit, and stating his intention to fight the charges.
At present, those who’ve worked with Davidar and know him well are in shock —HarperCollins CEO Karthika V K echoes the Indian publishing industry’s view when she says that nothing in David’s personal or professional record indicates that he would be capable of sexual assault, and she finds the charges “very hard to believe”. Rundle’s trauma is also intense; as her lawyer stated, it takes a lot for a woman to file sexual harassment charges. It would be improper to speculate on the facts of the case at present — Rundle’s charges are available, but Davidar is not free for legal reasons to tell his side of the story.
Whatever the verdict, this is a saddening, unpleasant story, and it will leave a residue on the lives of both protagonists. This column will offer a more detailed analysis when the case comes to court.