The Globe & Mail have already declared it a surprise upset (upset is a tad harsh, no?). A surprise it was, but that makes it all the more exciting, right? He acknowledged this himself, declaring it “an accident of consensus,” and went on to gracefully acknowledge the other four finalists, and encourage the world to buy their books. Despite surprising some, the jury were apparently unanimous. According to judge Victoria Glendinning, “The final decision was totally consensual. There was no compromise.”
The jury called his book “a brave novel, conceived and written with impressive delicacy and understanding.”
MacIntyre: “I thought it was time for someone to take a deep look at the impact of sexual abuse on a lot of people, not the least of which are the priests who have to continue to represent this church, in spite of the bad behaviour and deviance of other priests.” He said on stage, as he accepted the award, his main goal in life since twenty was to tell stories. Thanks to the Giller win, his book will be flying off the shelves more than any other this week, likely. Again, The Giller Prize, as mentioned below, is the Canadian book award, as far as media and most are concerned. Sincere Salty Ink congrats to Linden. Go buy his book.
Follow-up: Apperently MacIntyre’s agent, Don Sedgwick, woke up today and there were “literally hundreds and hundreds of e-mails (from) all kinds of publishers who suddenly have to have this book all over the world.” That’s the power of the Giller Prize. “Hundreds” of foreign rights deals. Doesn’t get much better than this.
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