Hello
Gentle Reader
The
Booker Prize judges have released the thirteen names of the longlisted authors
and novels, for this year’s Booker Prize. The longlist has been called exacting,
but also safe and conventional; yet it is the first time the long time, there is
a limited number of Americans longlisted for the award. In their stead they
prize has included some unique authors, as well as previous winners and
nominees. Without further ado, the following list is the thirteen authors and
novels longlisted for this year’s award, in no particular order:
Margaret
Atwood – Canada – “The Last Testament,”
Salman
Rushdie – United Kingdom/India – “Quichotte,”
Deborah
levy – United Kingdom/South Africa – “The Man Who Saw Everything,”
Max
Porter – United Kingdom – “Lanny,”
Oyinkan
Braithwaite – Nigeria – “My Sister, the Serial Killer,”
Kevin
Barry – Ireland – “Night Boat to Tangier,”
Chigozie
Obioma – Nigeria – “An Orchestra of Minorities,”
Jeanette
Winterson – United Kingdom – “Frankissstein,”
John
Lanchester – United Kingdom – “The Wall,”
Bernardine
Evaristo – United Kingdom – “Girl, Woman, Other,”
Lucy
Ellmann – United States of America – “Ducks, Newburyport,”
Elif
Shafak – Turkey – “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World,”
Valeria
Luiselli – Mexico (resides in the United States) – “Lost Children Archive,”
Immediately
it can be seen why the Booker Prize has been deemed to a degree, conventional
and safe. Margaret Atwood and Salman Rushdie have both won the Booker Prize prior.
Salman Rushdie had even previously won the “Golden Booker.” Margaret Atwood’s
novel “The Last Testament,” which is not to be published until the autumn, has
been criticized by some as one of the conventional picks; but also a cash grab
by the author, thanks in part to the success of the “Handmaid’s Tale,”
adaption. “The Last Testament,” is set fifteen years after the original novel,
and follows the lives of three women in the fictional dystopian theocratic
society of Gilead. “Quichotte,” by Salman Rushdie, is his first novel to have
made some large literary splashes over the years. The novel is a reimagining
narrative of Don Quixote, as it traverses the strange and surreal adventures of
a traveling salesman through the United States. Deborah Levy has been nominated
for the Booker Prize twice before, and shortlisted for her novels “Swimming Home,”
and “Hot Milk.” Her novels are noted for their claustrophobic dramas, fixating
on the intimacy of moments, creating a surreal and often tense atmosphere,
lurking with paranoia. “The Man Who Saw Everything,” is of no exception,
weaving together two narratives of a synonymous car accident, with strange and
surreal results.
It
is wonderful to see Nigeria represented with strength this year as well. Oyinkan
Braithwaite’s novel “My Sister, the Serial Killer,” has been described as a
pastiche of splatter horror, love story, and a heavy dose of morbid humour. Chigozie
Obioma’s novel “An Orchestra of Minorities,” is a unique magical realist novel
narrated by Chi, a guardian spirit of Igbo myth, who observes the ordeal of an
ambitious Nigerian student, who becomes stranded in Cyprus, after falling for false
education program, and inevitable scam. Bernardine Evaristo also takes a unique
perspective, as she discusses the lives of unique characters who tackle issues
of gender, identity, and ethnicity in the modern world. It is a novel that seeks
to make the connections of each individual human experience through the unique disparity
of life.
The
English writer Max Porter’s novel “Lanny,” is being called a unique hybrid of
both prose and poetry, much like his initial debut: “Grief is a the Thing with
Feathers.” The novel recounts the story of a strange English boy of a small
English town who disappears, and in the wake of his absence, a strange force is
summoned. It’s a strange novel that experiments with voices, delves into
English folklore with a certain poetic finesse. Now with his second book, Max
Porter is showcasing himself to being one of the most unique and exciting
voices to be writing in the English language.
I’d
like end this post with a certain discussion on English as a literary language,
but not necessarily a native language. When the Booker Prize opening its
nomination edibility up beyond the United Kingdom and the Common Wealth, as
well as Northern Ireland and India, it was originally dominated and
overshadowed by American writers, dampening the attempt at having a global
perspective. Now, it seems the prize is finally beginning to show its global
aspirations with the inclusion of: Elif Shafak and Valeria Luiselli, who are
multilingual writers, and have begun to write and publish some of their works
in the English language. Elif Shafak is originally a Turkish writer, who has
lived in the United Kingdom for some years, and has been penalized in her
homeland, even facing criminal charges, which has since forced her into exile.
Her novel: “10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World,” returns Turkey, as it
recounts the memories and scarce life of a sex worker who is murdered in the
outskirts of Istanbul; her body is discarded in a dumpster like trash, and as
her cognitive functions begin the inevitable shut down, she reviews her life
through the short frame of ten minutes and thirty seconds. Valeria Luiselli novel
“Lost Children Archives,” takes aim at the American Policy of separating children
and parents, who are illegal migrants from one another. It’s a stream of consciousness
road trip that is tender, as well as heartwarming, despite the sociopolitical preoccupations.
“Lost Children Archives,” is Valeria
Luiselli’s debut novel in the English language.
The
best of luck of luck to all the nominees, it’ll be an interesting shortlist
when it is released this autumn.
Thank-you
For Reading Gentle Reader
Take
Care
And
As Always
Stay
Well Read
M.
Mary
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