Leave it to the Brits to create an award for bad writing about sex. Each year, The Literary Review highlights particularly sodden prose by reputable authors -- past winners include Norman Mailer, Tom Wolfe and Jonathan Littell, and Jonathan Franzen was nominated this year. (Full-bore erotica is not eligible for the prize.) The stated objective was to discourage such prose, but the award seems to have become a source of pride for winners -- no doubt because it will goose sales.
At the tongue-in-cheek award ceremony last night, Rowan Somerville took the award for his well-received novel "The Shape of Her." Among his images: "like a lepidopterist mounting a tough-skinned insect with a too blunt pin ... "
The Guardian reported that Somerville graciously accepted the award, saying, "There is nothing more English than bad sex, so on behalf of the entire nation I would like to thank you."
Photo via Orion Publishing Group