Shortlisted - but how to choose the winner?

Two novels and a book of short stories are the finalists for the fiction category of the New Zealand Post Book Awards 2010.
I want both the novels, As the earth turns silver by Alison Wong and Limestone by Fiona Farrell, to win and almost wish they had been listed in separate years.
I enjoyed both of them as they are highly readable quality fiction and well deserve being on this shortlist.

Contrasting these two novels reveals: a first time author and a very well established author; a story firmly set in New Zealand and a story that roams the world; a story that includes historical reality and a story that is wonderfully imaginative; a novel of short, sharp chapters and a novel of long complex chapters; an exploration of the past and an analysis of the present. Comparing the two books we find expressive writing and wonderful metaphors, character development and poignant personal moments, a feeling of how the past explains the future and the satisfaction of reading a well structured book and learning from it.






Since I chose As the earth turns silver for my banner above I think I must back this one as the winner - the announcement will be on Friday 27 August. I can even vote for it in the People's choice award.

Here is another recommendation for you



2010 NZ POST BOOK AWARDS FINALISTS:
Fiction: As the Earth Turns Silver by Alison Wong, Limestone by Fiona Farrell, Living as a Moon by Owen Marshall.

Poetry: Just This by Brian Turner, The Lustre Jug by Bernadette Hall, The Tram Conductor's Blue Cap by Michael Harlow.

General Non-Fiction: Aphrodite's Island by Anne Salmond, Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies, 1939-1945 by Gerald Hensley, Cone Ten Down: Studio pottery in New Zealand, 1945-1980 by Moyra Elliott and Damian Skinner, Encircled Lands: Te Urewera, 1820-1921 by Judith Binney, The Invention of New Zealand Art & National Identity, 1930-1970 by Francis Pound.

Illustrated Non-Fiction: Art at Te Papa edited by William McAloon, Go Fish: Recipes and stories from the New Zealand Coast by Al Brown, Maori Architecture: From fale to wharenui and beyond by Deidre Brown, Marti Friedlander by Leonard Bell, Mrkusich: The Art of Transformation by Alan Wright and Edward Hanfling.

All are available through North Shore Libraries.