Back in 2011 Edward St. Aubyn's novel "At Last" was overlooked for the well known Booker literary prize, or even for the long list of the Booker prize. This surprised many in literary circles as 'At Last" was the fifth and final book in St. Aubyn's highly regarded and very popular Patrick Melrose series. What's an author to do in such circumstances? St. Aubyn chose to write "Lost for Words" a skewering satire of literary prizes. In St. Aubyn's novel, possibly great works are misplaced by assistants, cookbooks are entered for fiction awards and a rowdy group of judges can't be bothered to actually read the books they are supposedly judging. The authors themselves are colorful characters and St. Aubyn takes some hilarious stabs at penning passages of truly bad writing as he sends up the honorees. The funniest of these are the Irvine Welsh imitation and the Shakespeare melodrama within a melodrama. As usual for St. Aubyn, his great wit and intelligence are on display. However, I became confused with the multiple characters and their wide ranging escapades that seemed unrelated to one another or the mishap of the literary prize. Each time I returned to reading "Lost for Words" I was a bit lost. I highly recommend the Patrick Melrose series. This biting satire explores the chaos that goes on behind the scenes at a major book award.St. Aubyn takes aim at The Elysian Prize, a close cousin to the UK's Booker Prize, and its panel of judges. Four of the judges are completely out of their depth and can't be bothered to read most of the books submitted for the prize. Only one, a literature professor, makes any attempt to choose books for their literary merit. The others spend most of their time searching for "relevance"or trying to curry favor with the other judges to gain votes for their preferred books. We also get to know an eccentric group of writers who are pinning their hopes on winning the Elysian Prize. Lost for Words will be enjoyed by readers who enjoy witty satire that's drier than the driest martini. I found this to be a clever but unsatisfying read, however. The book's stock characters were clearly designed to represent various literary types. The author seemed to enjoy skewering each writer for their monumental egos, but I found it wearisome to spend much time in their company. However, I did enjoy St. Aubyn's elegant writing style and savored many of his observations about the literary world and its inhabitants.
What do You think about Lost For Words (2014)?
Hilariously funny! A book every author worrying about book prices should read.
—hillhill
Mildly amusing satire based on the Man Booker prize selection process.
—giovana
