Reading Pulitzer Prize-Winning Books

For many many years, 107 to be exact, the Pulitzer Prize has annually been given to 23 of the most incredible works that uphold the epitome of literary talent. I’ve always regarded the term and the idea of the Pulitzer as one that could never be attainable, something distant, works not digestible to the likes of a high schooler like me. To challenge this idea, I looked up some short stories that have won the Pulitzer to see what they were really about. To see if they challenged my worldview, inspired me, or just left me awestruck in the face of such highly esteemed literature. So I decided to record my various thoughts and findings below!

Story One: “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri 

Honestly, the first thing I noticed about this book was how easy it was to read. The descriptions and imagery were simple, and the character's dialogue was very surface-level. In hindsight, I realize that was probably intentional. The story told within these pages is about the Das family, an Indian American family visiting their parents (who reside in India) on vacation. The Das parents grew up in America, their roots in India have barely been fostered or nurtured. This is in contrast to their tour guide, Mr. Kapasi, who is a native to the area and also views their mannerisms and characteristics in a very Westernized sense. The point of the novel is to show this culture clash, this disconnect between the two worlds. I can confidently say that the author does this well, and you can clearly see the differences in lifestyle and dispositions. The Das family views India as a foreign land, they interact with the country as tourists. The author shows this in very creative ways through symbols and even through character background stories. The stark difference between the way they treat locals and even how they got married displays a great cultural contrast. Though I understand the meaning and intention behind this, the story could not keep me engaged and interested. I understood what the author was trying to get at, but I wanted more. I wanted to like the characters, I wanted a deeper connection to what culture meant. And I can’t really say this book satisfied that. 

Story Two: “The Sympathizer” by Viet Thanh Nguyen 

Now this is a story that I genuinely enjoyed. Even though it is pretty different from what I normally read, I appreciated the complexities and themes that were embedded within this text. It follows the life of a South Vietnamese soldier amid the chaos and destruction that came with the Vietnam War. We see his departure to the United States right after Saigon fell and his journey as he grapples with himself during such perilous times. The catch? He is secretly a communist spy reporting to the North Vietnamese cause. Throughout the novel, I could clearly see his internal struggles as he fought to discover himself and his loyalties. He’s full of contradictions, full of sympathy for the cause he works against. The unnamed communist spy finds himself finding corruption and fault within the North Vietnamese agency he so diligently reports back to. Oh, and this is also heightened after being captured by his “own” people. The book balanced between surprising amounts of wit but also dark and raw realities of everything that comes with war. You could see his struggle for what his identity was. A half-french and half-Vietnamese man, so accustomed to and educated about the Western world and also contradictorality; the Communist regime. He is torn between loyalty toward politics but also his beloved (and starkly anti-communist) friends. It included a satirical tone and various timelines tied together in a seamless manner that truly showed the emotional/mental shift in the main character. You see the duality of humanity and how it shifts depending on what side you’re on. I also really appreciated the lens that the war was examined through. You see the Western rendition but the focus remains on both the North and the South Vietnamese narratives and perspectives. They both are critiqued, it's a more critical and nuanced way of viewing the conflict. A Pulitzer only makes sense for a work like this. 

Story Three: “The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter” by Katherine Anne Porter 

This book has more classical roots than the books I usually gravitate towards, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to read it. The book has over 26 fictitious short stories gathered by Katherine Porter who won the Pulitzer prize back in 1965. She’s been widely celebrated as a novelist for her “flawless prose” and the way she gained critical acclaim. Even though I did some research on her and saw her lasting mark on American literature, I still felt like I was missing something when I read this book. Maybe I need to pay more attention in English class when we dissect texts and find hidden meanings, but I didn’t really enjoy the short stories. They felt almost surface-level, and I wasn’t drawn to any character or storyline. The settings were enjoyable, however, as they took place in Texas and Mexico, which added more culture and depth to the overall plots. Some stories were more interesting to read, and honestly, her level of description and detail is actually something I appreciated and noticed. To be fair to Ms. Porter, I think the lack of enjoyment I felt was because of my own reading taste. I don’t often engage with the simplicity of classics, so I feel like there are other readers out there who would appreciate this a lot more than I did. Was it a solid collection of short stories? Yes. But could I really see why it won the Pulitzer? That’s up for debate. 

Overall: After reading various Pulitzer Prize winners, I realized that they’re a lot more approachable and digestible than I originally thought. Often, the prose is fairly simple, with a larger examination of themes and little details being the key to enjoying/appreciating the story in its entirety. Also, the level of diversity and variation between all these stories is really cool, and it’s a great way to expand your perspectives and reading palette. I had to adapt to the ways of reading and finding the meaning of each individual book due to their uniqueness. I'm honestly really glad I did this, I feel like it made me think harder and it exposed me to books I would never have noticed before. I would recommend exploring the various genres and Pulitzer winners to any reader.