Hello Gentle Reader,
This years International Booker Prize left a lot to be desired, when the original longlist was announced. While it captured a noteworthy title, such as Mircea Cărtărescu’s “Solenoid,” it was easily overwhelmed by titles of an otherwise socially inclined statements which either reduced their literary values, or worst yet, were poor substitutions for no literary value at all. The shortlist whittled down the original longlist to six books. While I had hoped the diamonds which did make it on the longlist would inevitably make their way to the shortlist, only a couple were so lucky. The following is this year’s shortlist:
Vincenzo Latronico – Italy – “Perfection,”
Anne Serre – France – “A Leopard-Skin Hat,”
Banu Mushtaq – India – “Heart Lamp,”
Vincent Delecroix – France – “Small Boat,”
Hiromi Kawakami – Japan – “Under the Eye of the Big Bird,”
The obvious and most questionable omission on this year’s shortlist is Mircea Cărtărescu’s “Solenoid,” which was also the by far the largest and perhaps the more complex novel included on this year’s prize longlist. “Solenoid,” previously won the International Dublin Literary Award last year. The fact that it was omitted from the shortlist raises a few eyebrows; but I am sure there’s a pettiness to literary awards. The International Booker Prize judges may not want to be seen following in the shadow or footsteps of the International Dublin Literary Award; just as it can be speculated that they declined to include both Olga Tokarczuk and Han Kang on this years longlist with their recent released novels “The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story,” and “We Do Not Part,” because they’ve either already won the award previously, and have since won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Still the absence of “Solenoid,” feels odd, not just because it was expected to be on the shortlist, but because Mircea Cărtărescu’s novel is unapologetically Borgesian in scope and style with its complexities, while employee heavy dosages of Kafkaesque absurdity.
It is good to see Solvej Balle on this shortlist with her novel, “On the Calculation of Volume 1.” In my own personal opinion, I think, Solvej Balle, Vincenzo Latronico, and Anne Serre, are this year’s contenders. Solvej Balle incorporates both style and narrative in a unique novel which has been described as the literary equivalent to “Groundhog Dog.” While, Vincenzo Latronico’s reimagining of Georges Perec’s 1960’s novel “Things: A Story of the Sixties,” explores the Instagram nihilism of todays millennial generation. Anne Serre’s novel “A Leopard-Skin Hat,” is a more personal novel, sketching the affections of a friends unyielding and undying love for a complex woman whose battling her own personal demons. Serre’s novel recounts a complex life vacillating between hope and desolation, and a brilliant life ultimately cut short due to this.
As in the case of this year’s longlist, this year’s shortlist also leaves a lot to be desired. The judges for this year’s award in turn gave the impression of weighing social justice commitments or commentary to their evaluations, which ultimately may have seen a lot of worthy books and novels dismissed because they did not sufficiently meet this criteria. Of course, that being said I am not privy to the judge’s rubric in how they assessed and weighed the nominated books, and as such ultimately my opinion is personal and of speculative nature; but this year’s lists seemed to be coated in a veneer of aggrandizing social commentary over purely literary evaluation.
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
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