Pure Colour

Pure Colour
2022 hardcover edition
AuthorSheila Heti
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublishedFebruary 15, 2022
Publisher
Publication placeCanada
Media type
Pages224
AwardGovernor General’s Literary Award
ISBN9780735282452
WebsitePenguin Random House Canada

Pure Colour is a novel by Canadian author Sheila Heti. Published by Knopf Canada, the book won the 2022 Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction.

Synopsis

Pure Colour is a novel about art, love, death, and time from beginning to end. Heti tells the story of a girl named Mira, her relationship with her father and how she deals with his death, and her love for Annie, who she meets while studying to become an art critic.

Awards

Pure Colour won the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction at the 2022 Governor General's Awards,[1] the Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature for fiction, and was long-listed for the 2022 Giller Prize.[2]

Year Work Prize Result Ref
2022 Pure Colour Folio Prize for fiction Shortlisted [3]
Giller Prize Longlisted [4]
Governor General's Award for English-language fiction Won [5]
2023 Pure Colour vine awards for canadian jewish literature for fiction Won [6]

Reception

Pure Colour was generally well received in Canada and the United States. Dwight Garner, journalist for The New York Times writes, “Just like that, there’s magic", and "Heti owns a sharp axe. In Pure Colour the wood chips that fall are as interesting as the sculpture that gets made.”[7] At The New Yorker, American journalist and author Douglas Preston adds "This book, so full of argument, feels weightless. I note this with wonder. . . Heti’s books aim to be vessels for the transformation of reader and writer.”[8] In The Globe and Mail, Nicole Thompson from The Canadian Press calls the novel "a strange and meditative book".[9]

References

  1. ^ Dundas, Deborah (November 16, 2022). "Sheila Heti, Eli Baxter win 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards for fiction and non-fiction". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  2. ^ "14 Canadian authors longlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books. September 6, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  3. ^ "2023 Shortlist". The Rathbones Folio Prize. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  4. ^ "14 Canadian authors longlisted for $100K Scotiabank Giller Prize". CBC Books. September 6, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  5. ^ Dundas, Deborah (November 16, 2022). "Sheila Heti, Eli Baxter win 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards for fiction and non-fiction". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  6. ^ "Koffler Centre of the Arts - Winners". kofflerarts.org. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Garner, Dwight (February 7, 2022). "'Pure Colour' Seeks Answers About Love, Mortality and God". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Sehgal, Parul (February 7, 2022). "In Sheila Heti's Novel, Critics Could Save the World—or Destroy It". The New Yorker. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Thompson, Nicole (November 16, 2022). "Sheila Heti wins $25,000 Governor General's fiction prize for Pure Colour". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 16, 2022.