TORONTO - Nancy Richler loved the "Uncle Wiggily" stories as a child. Alix Ohlin and Will Ferguson would love to recruit Sarah Polley for film adaptations of their books. Kim Thuy reads all reviews of her work. And Russell Wangersky enjoys "fabulous Newfoundland words, like 'tangly' ... and 'dunch.'"
Those are among the revelations the five finalists for this year's $50,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize made in email interviews with The Canadian Press ahead of Tuesday's black-tie bash in Toronto.
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Calgary resident Will Ferguson, 48, is nominated for "419" (Viking Canada):
Nominated book in one sentence:
A woman travels to Nigeria to confront the man she feels is responsible for her father's death and ends up causing havoc in other people's lives.
Which actors/director would you choose for a big-screen version of your book?
Sarah Polley as Laura. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Winston. Bronwen Hughes to direct. ("Stander" was brilliant!)
Do you read reviews of your books? Explain why/why not.
Of course I read reviews. Everyone does. The raves I take to heart (naturally); the nasty ones are clearly misguided.
Best book you've read in the past year?
For fiction? "The Headmaster's Wager" — and no, not just because Vincent blurbed my book.
Book that made an early impact on you and why?
"Wasp" by Eric Frank Russell. I have read and re-read it countless times over the years and am still impressed by the sheer storytelling skill involved.
Five of your favourite words?
"Cheque is in the mail."
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Alix Ohlin, 40, a Montreal native who lives in Pennsylvania, is a finalist for "Inside" (House of Anansi Press):
Nominated book in a sentence:
The paths of three characters intertwine as they try to figure out: can any of us save another person's life?
Which actors/director would you choose for a big-screen version of your book?
I have no idea about actors! I spend so much time inventing the characters on the page that it's hard for me to imagine them any other way. For a director, my dream would be Sarah Polley. I'm a big admirer of her work and I think we have a similar sensibility when it comes to characters and relationships.
Do you read reviews of your books? Explain why/why not.
Most of the time I skim them very quickly and then put them away. Reading them, even when they're positive, makes me a little self-conscious. I think for writers it's healthier to focus on your own process, and not have other people's words lodged in your head.
Best book you've read in the past year?
The Patrick Melrose novels by Edward St. Aubyn — dark, elegant, brutally funny books that chart the course of one imperfect man's life.
Book that made an early impact on you and why?
As a very young child my favourite book was "Harold and the Purple Crayon." It's about a boy who creates a whole world by drawing it. At the end of the book he draws his house and his bed and goes to sleep. I guess it's not too surprising that I liked it, as a future writer.
Five of your favourite words?
I have a strange fondness for old-fashioned slang, and sometimes I talk like an 85-year-old man. So: hoosegow, canoodle, hullabaloo, nifty. And the other day, I heard myself describe someone as "a hoot and a half."
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Montrealer Nancy Richler, 55, is a finalist for "The Imposter Bride" (HarperCollinsPublishers):
Nominated book in a sentence: "The Imposter Bride" is about a young woman's search for the truth about her mother in the post-war Jewish community of Montreal.
Which actors/director would you choose for a big-screen version of your book?
I would choose Philippe Falardeau as the director. I'd let him choose the actors but would put in a word for Tilda Swinton as Lily.
Do you read reviews of your books? Why/why not.
Yes I read them. The only time I wouldn't read one would be if I had been forewarned that it was negative in a malicious way, which thankfully has not happened.
Best book you've read in the past year?
I've read many good books in the last year but the one that made the deepest impression was "To Live" by Yu Hua. I think it was first published in English about 10 years ago, but I just discovered it this year.
Book that made an early impact on you and why?
Uncle Wiggily. To this day I retain my fondness for arthritic elderly rabbits.
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Kim Thuy, who was born in Saigon and now lives in Montreal, is nominated for "Ru," translation by Sheila Fischman (Random House Canada):
Nominated book in one sentence:
Delicate.
Which actors/director would you choose for a big-screen version of your book?
Quvenzhane Wallis of "Beasts of the Southern Wild," but unfortunately she is not Asian. As to the director, I love Wong Kar Wai for his sensuality.
Do you read reviews of your books? Explain why/why not.
Yes! I learn a lot from the reviews' analysis. They give me a glimpse into the readers' head. So, I do read everything, good and bad.
Best book you've read in the past year?
"The Tuner of Silences" by Mia Couto.
Book that made an early impact on you and why?
"The Lover" by Marguerite Duras because I used to know it by heart.
Five of your favourite words?
"Longing," "to scoop up" and "lush" because I have not yet found a satisfying translation in French, "quintessential" and "ubiquity" because I love the people who have taught these words to me.
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Russell Wangersky, 50, who was born in Connecticut, grew up in Halifax and lives in St. John's, is nominated for "Whirl Away" (Thomas Allen Publishers):
Nominated book in one sentence:
"Whirl Away" is a collection of short stories about people who whirl out of control because the skills they depend on have failed them.
Which actors/director would you choose for a big-screen version of your book?
I think the closest actor to embody the character type of the book would be Kevin Spacey, because of his particular ability to appear lost in the world. And for a director? Guy Ritchie, who makes the impossible believable.
Do you read reviews of your books? Explain why/why not.
I do read reviews, because I desperately want to know if I've been successful in reaching a reader. But heartbreak often lies in the habit, because any complaint, no matter how small, feels like something I should have caught before the book came out.
Best book you've read in the past year?
I think I'd have to say Patrick deWitt's "The Sisters Brothers." A fantastic romp.
Book that made an early impact on you and why?
Alistair MacLeod's short story collection "The Lost Salt Gift of Blood" — a beautiful book that showed me for the first time that simple lives could carry important messages. Lives just like mine.
Five of your favourite words?
Well, "penguin," just because of the great way it feels when you say it. Some fabulous Newfoundland words, like "tangly" which means complicated, and "dunch" which means heavy and thick, like a undercooked brownie. I like "thrum" a lot, and I'm partial to "rill" as well.
