Her second novel, she drove without stopping, was an american library association notable book in 1990. Jaimy gordons victory last night at the national book awards was a classic underdog moment, about a littleknown writer with a littleseen book who overcame long odds to capture the prize and, at least for one night, revel in the glory or swoon out of disbelief. A brilliant novel that captures the dusty, dark, and beautiful world of smalltime horse racing, where trainers, jockeys, grooms and grifters vie for what little luck is offered at a rundown west virginia track. National book awardfinalist gordons new novel begins and ends at a backwoods race track in early1970s west virginia, where horse trainer tommy hansel dreams up a scam. So it was a shock when lord of misrule, a new novel set at a bottomlevel west virginia racetrack in the early 1970s, was named one of the five finalists for the national book award for fiction, a prize that has been won by literary giants such as william faulkner, john updike and saul bellow. Jaimy gordons lord of misrule, a national book award winner. Lord of misrule vintage contemporaries by gordon, jaimy and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Gordon is magically adept at fusing the banal and the mythic in a creature like lord of misrule. Lord of misrule is set in west virginia on a fictional, lowerclass racing track called indian mound downs.
Buy lord of misrule by jaimy gordon from amazons fiction books store. Lord of misrule beautifully captures language of the racetrack andrew beyer, the daily racing form. Get this book free when you sign up for a 30day trial. Jaimy gordons lord of misrule is a novel about horse racing at a small time track in west virginia, where wornout horses, trainers, jockeys, grooms and. The book is divided into four sections, each concerned with one of four horse races at a down on the luck. After all, her winning book, lord of misrule, is set.
A brilliant novel that captures the dusty, dark, and beautiful wor. Jaimy gordon was the dark horse in this years national book awards, and she walked away in a long red dress clutching the prize for fiction. Jaimy gordons national book awardwinning novel, set at a lowstakes horseracing track, is itself a winner. Lord of misrule is a darkly realistic novel about a young woman living through a year of horse racing at a halfmile track in west virginia, while everyones best laid schemes keep going brutally wrong. Gordon expertly employees four separate thirdperson narrators well, one is actually secondperson throughout the entire book. When this intriguing novel won the prestigious national book award in november, it occasioned a slew of comments having to do. Only a devotee could conjure the insider world of the sport to the equal satisfaction of the uninitiated and the horse. There is a reason lord of misrule won the national book award. Each chapter dives into a different characters head and never once does the reader feel at a loss for who is the focus. Taking place in four parts, it considers four horse races at indian mound downs, a racetrack known. Lord of misrule jaimy gordon, 2010 knopf doubleday 304 pp. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of lord of misrule by jaimy gordon.
Jaimy gordons lord of misrule, a national book award. Va the happy kick of her novel comes largely from the argot she throws the unbaptized reader into the deep idiom of the racetrack, circa the early 1970s. When jaimy gordon won the national book award for fiction last month, she prompted a profligate outburst of metaphors about dark horses. With her first novel since her acclaimed bogeywoman 1999, jaimy gordon bears comparison to other great writers of the american demimonde, such as nathanael west, damon runyon, and eudora. In addition to two novels, she has published poetry, plays, short stories and essays. Lord of misrule national book award by jaimy gordon and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Lord of misrule is an exuberant, jazzy novel about rough characters both equine and twofooted caught up in a shabby, halfmile racetrack downriver from wheeling, w. Jaimy gordon born july 4, 1944, is an american writer. Lord of misrule by jaimy gordon in chm, djvu, fb3 download ebook. It is nearly impossible not to be drawn into horseracing cliches when describing jaimy gordons novel lord of. Gordon s short story, a nights work, which shares a number of characters with lord of misrule, appeared in best american short stories 1995. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading lord of misrule vintage contemporaries. The book is divided into four sections, each concerned with one of four horse races at a down on the luck racetrack.
Lord of misrule vintage contemporaries jaimy gordon on. She is a winner of the national book award for fiction. Written by jaimy gordon, audiobook narrated by myra lucretia taylor. It features a fascinating array of downatheel hopefuls who try. She teaches at western michigan university in kalamazoo and in the prague summer program for writers, and received an academyinstitute award for her fiction from the american academy of arts and letters. The surprise winner of the 2010 us national book award, jaimy gordons horseracing novel is big on character and narrative finesse. Buy a cheap copy of lord of misrule book by jaimy gordon.
Patti smith, jaimy gordon win book awards gordons lord of misrule and smiths just kids were the big winners at the national book awards in. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws. Lord of misrule has 6 available editions to buy at half price books marketplace. Then she slipped from my view until 2010, when her novel lord of misrule won the national book award. Lord of misrule winner, national book awards 2010 for fiction.
Maggie is collegeeducated but is drawn to the seamy underbelly of the track and the brokendown beauty of the horses. Gordons short story, a nights work, which shares a number of characters with lord of misrule, appeared in best american short stories 1995. Jaimy gordon blends these ingredients into a moving contemplation of striving, dreaming, and the human condition. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. And we have not considered the horses who like the humans have seen better days. Signin to download and listen to this audiobook today. Her second novel, she drove without stopping, brought her an academyinstitute award for her fiction from the american academy of arts and letters. Lord of misrule vintage contemporaries kindle edition by gordon, jaimy. Gordon has been a fellow of the fine arts work center in provincetown. Jaimy gordon must be as passionate about horses and horseracing as the. Jaimy gordons national book awardwinning novel, set at a lowstakes horse racing track, is itself a winner.
At this racetrack, rundown, secondgrade horses are frequently raced, bought and sold. Jaimy gordon is the national book awardwinning author of lord of misrule. Lord of misrule is filled with memorable characters who exist on the fringe, making up a whole world. November 18, 2010 gordons lord of misrule and smiths just kids were the big winners at the national book awards in. Lord of misrule is her fourth novel, and was awarded the national book award for fiction 2010. Jaimy gordon, lord of misrule winner of the national book award a brilliant novel that captures the dusty, dark, and beautiful world of smalltime horse racing, where trainers, jockeys, grooms and grifters vie for what little luck is offered at a rundown west virginia track. Jaimy gordons lord of misrule, dark horse winner the. Gordons short story, a nights work, which shares a number. Jaimy gordon will read from and signs copies of her national book awardnominated novel, lord of misrule, at 7 p. Gordon structures the narrative around the four horses, the last best hope being lord of misrule, and she seamlessly moves the reader from one narrative consciousness to another without being manipulative or intrusive. Jaimy gordons lord of misrule is the novel that almost. Gordons short story, a nights work, which shares a number of characters with lord of misrule, appeared in best american short stories. Shes also keenly attuned to all the aspects of carnality and power that infuse this story lord of misrule edges toward some drastic final twists without ever escaping the impression that it is more of a shortstory cycle than a fullfledged. Lord of misrule is a 2011 novel by american author jaimy gordon.
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