Meg Rosoff. Award Laureate 2016 1
around Salisbury Plain, it recalls English novels
of the nineteenth century by authors such as Thomas Hardy, but Rosoff uses her historical setting to tell a highly topical, poignant story. Her protagonist, Pell, defies convention, running from a future as a poor married woman who will spend her days in toil and childbearing, and choosing a life lived on her own terms. Yet it is no easy, romanticized picture of women’s liberation that Rosoff paints. Pell’s choice leads to hard sacrifices and she must fight for the people she loves. There is no Dog (2011) challenges readers anew. In this theological satire, God is a hormonal, emotionally volatile teenager named Bob. Of all his creations, Bob likes cute girls the best. The only problem is that every time he falls in love, the Earth is pummeled by natural disasters that mirror his emotional turmoil. On Earth, Lucy lives blissfully unaware of Bob’s existence until he catches sight of her and environmental catastrophe ensues. Here, Rosoff gives her sense of humor free rein, introducing a remarkable cast of characters ranging from Bob’s excellent but despairing assistant, Mr. B, to a strange animal named Eck. Rosoff writes about the confusions of falling in love and young adult desire and sexuality with no holds barred. Our world may be filled with chaos and catastrophe, but it can still hold both joy and miracles. Rosoff is an acute observer of psychology. The novel Picture me Gone (2013) juxtaposes the characters of Mila, her father Gil, and Gil’s missing friend, Matthew. Matthew is a Godot character, constantly discussed but infinitely elusive. Picture me Gone is both a philosophical whodunit, where the mystery consists in our (in)ability to understand one another, and a description of how reality and our perceptions of it can change. Mila has a special sensitivity to mood and an ability to read the thoughts of the people around her. The complexity of adulthood and a betrayal by the adults in her life affect her powerfully. It hurts, but her realization that things are not always as they appear deepens her understanding of the compound nature of friendship and love.