Kate Figes The Guardian, Saturday 1 January 2011
The book: Serious Men by Manu Joseph (John Murray, £18.99). A charming debut novel by an Indian journalist set in Mumbai. Ayyan Mani, an untouchable, is personal assistant to a Brahmin physicist on a lifetime quest for extraterrestrial life. He escapes simmering resentment in his slum room through fantasy, and priming his son with difficult questions to ask his teachers so that they think he is a genius. Funny, diverting and original.
Why it deserved better, by Roland Philipps, managing director: "I love it for its characters, for the underdogs we root for and for the jokes. It was our hope for the literary prizes this year and certainly for outstanding reviews (it got a few), but for whatever reason it just did not connect as it should have in hardback."
I wish I'd published: The Big Short by Michael Lewis (Penguin). "It's a very clear and witty (as is everything Lewis writes) exposition of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. I not only finally understood it but was entertained along the way."
Why it deserved better, by Robin Robertson, deputy publishing director: "It's baffling to me that more people don't read Burnside. He writes numinous, transfiguring poetry, terrifying and beautiful novels, and extraordinarily frank and disturbing autobiographies. Perhaps in this case it's drug fatigue, but I'm inclined to think it's to do with its sui generis qualities – and that some booksellers stocked it in children's books . . ."
I wish I'd published: "Anne Carson's Nox (New Directions), as Cape have brought out all the rest of Carson's poetry, but her agent didn't tell me it was delivered. It comes as an illustrated text in concertina form in a solander box: very complicated and expensive to produce. By the time I knew about it, New Directions had already gone to press. Through gritted teeth, I salute a magnificent book."
The book: Secret Son by Laila Lalami (Viking, £12.99). Extremes of poverty and wealth clash in a first novel set in Casablanca, which follows 19-year-old Youssef from dreams of a better life to a realisation that all that glitters is not gold.
Why it deserved better, by Venetia Butterfield, publishing director: "I had such high hopes for this book. She did get longlisted for the Orange prize but I was disappointed by the lack of reviews for this wonderful Moroccan novel. Lalami is a great talent, and I feel her time will come."
I wish I'd published: "I was the underbidder for Emma Donoghue's Room (Picador), and I have felt quite sad and frankly downright envious all year. I've been a bad loser, but Picador have done a brilliant job publishing it and it will be one of the biggest paperbacks next year."
The book: Hand in the Fire by Hugo Hamilton (Fourth Estate, £12.99). An unlikely friendship blossoms between Vid, Serbian immigrant carpenter, and Kevin, a lawyer, on the streets of Dublin, forged by witnessing a violent assault together.
Why it deserved better, by Nicholas Pearson, publishing director: "To my mind this is one of the great books about the migrant experience which is reshaping our European cities. There were one or two wonderful reviews but we struggled to make any sort of sales impact at all. Despite this we remain determined about Hamilton – surely one of Ireland's finest writers."
I wish I'd published: "Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (Hamish Hamilton), another Dublin novel. I read much of it in a lay-by on a bird-watching holiday in Crete, waiting for the mighty lammergeyer to show himself, laughing so much I totally forgot about the binoculars. The dialogue between 14-year-old schoolboys is priceless – comic writing at its best."
The full interesting story at The Guardian.
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