The Tournament of Books is on!

The sought-after Rooster

Some of you may look forward to college basketball in the spring. As for me, I get my March Madness fix every year (well, since 2005, anyway) with the Morning News Tournament of Books, which puts the year’s best fiction in head-to-head competition.

The race for the Rooster started this week, and so far the commentary and matchups have been epic. Where else would you find John Wray’s Lowboy facing off against Kathryn Stockett’s The Help? (I won’t give the winner away, but judge Andrew Womack concludes, “Were the two books somehow collated into a single work, the result would be more formidable: a cooler, more memorable, disarming contender. Something with teeth of its own.”)

And don’t miss the commentary on each round from returning hosts Kevin Guilfoile and John Warner. A sample from the discussion of the aforementioned Help/Lowboy matchup:

Take the following one question quiz—If a black person were in your house, where would you send her if she asked to use your restroom? If your answer is not “the driveway,” The Help will make you feel good about yourself.

Past winners include Toni Morrison’s A Mercy, Junot Diaz’s The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. Looking at this year’s matchups, I’m betting Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall will take the Rooster home this year, although who knows which contenders will return in the Zombie Round? Follow all the action here.