Nobel laureate Han Kang's 'We Do Not Part,' Megha Majumdar's 'A Guardian and a Thief, ' and Yiyun Li's 'Things in Nature Merely Grow' are among the finalists for the Andrew Carnegie Medals, fiction and nonfiction awards.
'We Do Not Part' explores the path of Kyungha as she travels from Seoul into the forests of Jeju Island, to the home of her old friend Inseon. Inseon, hospitalised following an accident, begs Kyungha to hasten there to feed her beloved pet bird, who will otherwise die.
Kyungha's travel is hindered by snowstorm, icy wind and snow squalls, wondering if she will arrive in time to save the bird – or even survive the terrible cold that envelops her with every step. The story unravels into many more twists thereafter.
'A Guardian and a Thief' is already an Oprah Winfrey book club pick and a nominee for the National Book Award and Kirkus Prize. The book is set in a near-future Kolkata, India, ravaged by climate change and food scarcity, in which two families seeking to protect their children must battle each other.
'Things in Nature Merely Grow' is a memoir by Yiyun Li about the suicide of her two sons, which explores her grief through a philosophy of radical acceptance rather than healing.
The awards are presented by the American Library Association. Winners are to be announced on January 27, and each receives $5,000.
The awards were established in 2012 with the help of a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Winners in the past include Jennifer Egan, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Doris Kearns Goodwin.