Lost for Words
Categories: Literature & Fiction
Lost for Words (2014) is a comic novel by Edward St Aubyn. St Aubyn satirizes a British literary prize, its judges and the authors competing for it. As egos, politics and bad faith shape the shortlist, the novel skewers the literary world's vanity while remaining affectionate about why people care so much about books. The prize at the center of the plot resembles the Booker in all but name.
Recommended by 1 person
- Fareed Zakaria: “This week's book of the week is a novel, one that you can read on the beach or on a plane, probably in a few hours. It is the British author Edward St. Aubyns's "Lost for Words." A clever biting look at the world of novelists, book prizes and pretentious literary types in general. The portraits of the people, their quirks, their vanities, their weaknesses are brilliantly rendered. Comic novels are hard to do well. This one does it effortlessly.”