Pure Colour
2022 hardcover edition
AuthorSheila Heti
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction
PublishedFebruary 15, 2022
Publisher
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.

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.
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