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Louisa Hall's Trinity (Ecco, 2018) is the winner of the 2018 Prize.
From the press release: "The novel explores Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb, through his interactions with seven imagined characters from 1943 to 1966. Speaking in 'testimonials,' the characters concentrate more on their own lives despite the major world events unfolding around them... Excellent historical fiction has the power to reveal emotional truths that history cannot, and Trinity does just that through its ingenious form and compelling prose."
And the finalist for 2018 is The Verdun Affair by Nick Dybek (Scribner, 2018).
From the press release: "Set in Verdun, France and Bologna, Italy in the aftermath of World War I (with a small portion in 1950s Hollywood, California), the chief protagonists are American. A young man works gathering up bones from the former Verdun battlefield for an ossuary when a young woman arrives in search of information about her husband who was reported missing in action... The book is well-written and a page turner. It has numerous elements of interest: a tender affair, the entry of a competing male, a dreadful description of Verdun following the battle, the mysterious amnesiac and the efforts to restore his memory or otherwise identify him, the chaos in Bologna incident to the early years of the Mussolini movement, and the pervasive effects of a significant mistruth spoken by one of the principal characters."
Congratulations to both authors. I haven't read either book yet, but am looking forward to it!
The Langum Prize celebrates the "best book in American historical fiction that is both excellent fiction and excellent history." For more information, please see the Langum Charitable Trust website.
And the finalist for 2018 is The Verdun Affair by Nick Dybek (Scribner, 2018).
From the press release: "Set in Verdun, France and Bologna, Italy in the aftermath of World War I (with a small portion in 1950s Hollywood, California), the chief protagonists are American. A young man works gathering up bones from the former Verdun battlefield for an ossuary when a young woman arrives in search of information about her husband who was reported missing in action... The book is well-written and a page turner. It has numerous elements of interest: a tender affair, the entry of a competing male, a dreadful description of Verdun following the battle, the mysterious amnesiac and the efforts to restore his memory or otherwise identify him, the chaos in Bologna incident to the early years of the Mussolini movement, and the pervasive effects of a significant mistruth spoken by one of the principal characters."Congratulations to both authors. I haven't read either book yet, but am looking forward to it!
The Langum Prize celebrates the "best book in American historical fiction that is both excellent fiction and excellent history." For more information, please see the Langum Charitable Trust website.
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