Louise Erdrich joined the ranks of authors such as William Faulkner, Saul Bellow, and John Updike late November 14, when it was announced that her book, “The Roundhouse,” had won the National Book Award for Fiction. The novel is about a young teenage boy on a Native American reservation struggling to come to terms with racial injustice. Erdrich, herself part Native American, started off her acceptance speech in her Native American language before continuing in English.

Said Erdrich: “This is a book about a huge case of injustice ongoing on reservations. Thank you for giving it a wider audience.”

The other fiction nominees this year were “This is How You Lose Her,” by Junot Diaz, “A Hologram for the King,” by Dave Eggers, “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” by Ben Fountain, and “The Yellow Birds,” the debut work of Kevin Powers. Although the National Book Award usually favors obscure writers, this year showed a remarkable number of heavyweights among the finalists. Diaz received a MacArthur Genius Grant this past year for his work, while both Eggers and Erdrich have received Pulitzer prize nominations before.

The non-fiction category was no less competitive, with Pulitzer prize winning journalists included in the pack. Ultimately Katherine Boo won the award with her searing examination of life in the slums of Mumbai, “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity.”

William Alexander won in the Young People’s Literature category for “Goblin Secrets” and David Ferry was awarded the poetry prize for his “Bewilderment: New Poems and Translations.” Ferry, 88, thought he had a decent chance at winning, if for no other reason than he was so much older than the other nominees, meaning this might be his last chance to win. “My only hope was a preposterous pre-posthumous award,” he said, “and I guess that is what I have won here.”

Winners receive $10,000 and a bronze statuette for the prize. Judges this year read over 1,300 books prior to deciding on finalists.

Elmore Leonard won the award for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, an award honoring lifetime achievement that has previously gone to writers as diverse as Toni Morrison and Stephen King. Summing up, he said, “I am energized by this honor. The only thing I’ve ever wanted to do in my life is tell stories, and this award tells me I am still good at it.”

The National Book Award has catapulted writers such as Don DeLillo and Cormac McCarthy out of obscurity and into popular authors. It is not uncommon to see finalists for the National Book Award go on to win other prizes. Could this be just the beginning for Erdrich?

Image Courtesy : Americanlibraries

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FX’s hit show, ‘Justified’ (2010), about an urban cowboy and U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, is getting a fourth season. It was announced Tuesday, March 6^th, 2012, to the delight of its rather large fanbase.

‘Justified’, based on the short story and novels by Elmore Leonard, tells the tale of Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant): a handsome Deputy U.S. Marshal with impeccable style, a distinctive (borderline memetic) off-white cowboy hat, and unbelievable quick draw skills. However, an incident in Miami involving a public shooting  gets Raylan reassigned to Lexington, Kentucky, a spitting distance from his hometown of Harlan.

Raylan has a great dislike for Harlan, because over the years it has become a breeding ground for drugs, prostitution, and all other manners of crime. But he is forced to return after one of his childhood friends, Boyd Crowder (Walt Goggins), is accused of bombing a church. Raylan uses his smarts to track Boyd down, and they have a good old-fashioned standoff in the kitchen of Boyd’s stepsister, Ava Crowder (Joelle Carter), who had recently killed Boyd’s brother for abusing her. Raylan shoots Boyd in the chest, but Boyd lives and is hospitalized before heading to jail.

Season one sets up the main cast and establishes the surrounding areas in Raylan’s world, which includes Lexington, Harlan, and a few other towns. Raylan’s boss is Chief Deputy Art Mullen (Nick Searchy), a sarcastic, tough, but ultimately fair authority figure. He and Raylan constantly bicker, but Art recognizes Raylan’s unparalleled ability to catch criminals and keep innocent bystanders from getting killed when things go south. Raylan also recognizes that while Art always gives him a hard time, he is someone Raylan can trust when things get rough.

Raylan is joined by Rachel Brooks (Erica Tazel), a polite, highly competent fellow Marshal, and Tim Gutterson (Jacob Pitts); a sharp-tongued sharpshooter who enjoys pushing Raylan’s buttons.

Raylan also becomes involved with Ava Crowder for a while, who had been nursing a crush on him before he left to be a U.S. Marshal, but things don’t last long, as Raylan’s ex-wife Winona Hawkins (Natalie Zea) saunters back into the picture. Winona is married to a real estate businessman named Gary Hawkins (Williams Ragsdale), whom Raylan is not a fan of at all. Raylan and Winona are both still in love with each other, but his job continues to keep them separate for much of the first season and ultimately in the third one as well.

Harlan is also the home of Raylan’s estranged father, Arlo Givens (Raymond J. Barry), and his aunt Helen Givens (Linda Gehringer). Raylan disowned his father years prior due to the physical abuse he and his deceased mother suffered at Arlo’s hands, but Arlo’s hot temper gets him embroiled in criminal activities throughout seasons one, two, and three, forcing Raylan to have to pick sides between the law and family, more than once.

The main conflict of the show comes from several villainous characters: Bo Crowder (M.C. Gainey), Boyd Crowder’s father and local crime boss in Harlan during season one, Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale), an ambitious drug lord, and her family, Coover and Dickie Bennett, and Robert Quarles (Neal McDonough), a former Detroit mobster who comes to Harlan looking to take over, in season three. Other sources of drama stem from the inhabitants of Harlan, who have little work and no prospects to make a living, so many turn to a life of crime.

The show has been critically acclaimed and showcases excellent dialogue, shocking twists, interesting characters, and rousing action scenes. The ratings have steadily grown since its premiere in 2010, and it continues to pull in more with each season. Fans are eager to see it return next season for 13 hour-long episodes.

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