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These Two Novels Won This 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction was shared by two novels this year: Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver and Trust by Hernan Diaz. Both books explore class and money, as experienced at both ends of the social spectrum.

Demon Copperhead

  • Author: Barbara Kingsolver
  • Setting: Modern-day Appalachia
  • Genre: Contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield
  • Themes: Poverty, child abuse, addiction, redemption

Demon Copperhead is a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield. Kingsolver's novel is set in modern-day Appalachia, and like Dickens' original tale, it examines institutional poverty and the damage it does to children. The novel's eponymous hero is born into grinding poverty, and the book traces his journey through foster care, child labor, and addiction as he battles his way towards a happier outcome.

Trust

  • Author: Hernan Diaz
  • Setting: 1920s Wall Street
  • Genre: Historical fiction
  • Themes: Lies, power, money, reality

Trust tells the story of a 1920s Wall Street tycoon through four competing narratives: a novel, an unfinished autobiography, a memoir, and a fragmented collection of diary entries. The reader is left to question which account to trust, and the novel explores the lies that undergird some relationships and how power and money can distort reality itself.

For more details on these novels, read here.

Topics:
Arts and CultureEquity, Diversity and Inclusion
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