Hello Gentle Reader,
The International Booker Prize Shortlist for 2025 has released this year’s longlist of thirteen titles each competing for a coveted spot on the shortlist, which will be announced in at the end of March. This year’s longlist is redemptive when compared to last years prize, which gave the direct impression the judges last year were far more interested taking proxy social and political positions via the prize. This is not to say this year’s longlist does not delve into unique subjects or wade into historical or political concerns, but the effect is less paramount with the judges repositioning the prize to consider the books within a literary context first.
This years International Booker Prize Longlist is as follows in no particular order:
“The Wax Child,” – Olga Ravn, Translated from Danish by Martin Aitken
“The Director,” – Daniel Kehlmann, translated from German by Ross Benjamin
“Taiwan Travelogue,” – Yáng Shuāng-zǐ, translated from Mandarin Chinese by Lin King
“She Who Remains,” – Rene Karabash, translated from Bulgarian by Izidora Angel
“The Duke,” – Matteo Melchiorre, translated from Italian by Antonella Lettieri
“The Witch,” – Marie NDiaye, translated from French by Jordan Stump
“Small Comforts,” – Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
“The Remembered Soldier,” – Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay
“The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran,” – Shida Bazyar, translated from German by Ruth Martin
This year’s longlist is a cornucopia of preoccupations, magic and the esoteric; questions of war, colonialism; the moral culpability of the individual when viewed within the context of history; the imbalances of power via money, sex and pure geopolitical power. This year’s longlist highlights a variety of concerns without anchoring itself down by making any perceived political statement. Which is rather admirable considering Shahrnush Parsipur’s novel “Women Without Men,” right now will be read within the lens of the current upheaval in Iran and the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in 2022. This same perspective will certainly be applied to Shida Bazyar and her novel “The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran.” Perhaps though, this is why the judges chose these two novels, for the immediate relevance to the current state of affairs in the Middle Eastern nation, which is currently be antagonized further by the United States of America.
The mercurial world of womanhood enters the realm of the occult via two novels which careen towards magical realism and then pull themselves back, “The Wax Child,” by Ola Ravn and “The Witch,” by Marie Ndiaye. Ola Ravn’s novel is based of the terrifying reality of 17th century theology, where witches and the dark arts were as a real threat to people as fires or plagues. It captures the superstitions of the time with visceral clarity and the suspicions of female empowerment, all from the perspective of the titular wax doll, who remains casual and intimate observer of these strange and violent times. Marie Ndiaye “The Witch,” tackles the notion of orphic spiritualism from an otherwise hereditary and folklore tradition, as the character Lucie understands, her lineage is a long and proud one of witches, while her own powers remain underwhelming and disappointing at the best of times; but her daughters, however, have inherited her gift ten-fold. What follows is a rumination on family, the complexity of mother-daughter relationships, and the nature of home.
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ and Daniel Kehlmann are the two writers to watch out for the most on this year’s longlist. Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s novel “Taiwan Travelogue,” has been on a winning street both at home and abroad, having won the National Book Award for Translated Literature in 2024. The novel is a bittersweet love story between two women during the early 20th century, when Japan controlled Taiwan. The novel questions love, power, language and history. Its complexity should only endear readers, showcasing the power of what great literature can do. While the eminent German author Daniel Kehlmann tackles history and biography, recounting the life of G.W. Pabst and his ethical culpability when making a deal with the Nazis. Questions circulate and remain, was Pabst an unwilling cog in a tyrannical machine now miscast as collaborator; or was he collaborator all along, who alienated in California returned to Austria, in order to reclaim the twinkling silver dreams of cinema?
Mathias Énard remains a dark horse for this year’s prize as well with his novel “The Deserters,” which remains the darkest dystopian parabolic novel on the longlist, recounting on one end, the fever dream of a solider emerging from the Mediterranean wilderness, escaping an unspecified war and its incessant violence; while on the other end, a tributary conference to the mathematician Paul Heudeber, whose endorsement of communist ideals were a direct product of his opposition to fascism. Written in Énard’s signature neo-modernist prose, “The Deserters,” is the best of translated literature, complex writing wrestling with nuanced ideas, while pathologising them in turn.
Certainly, a compelling list this year, with a mixture of lengthy novels and those of expedited nature. Regardless, this year’s award appears to move the prize back in the right direction, bringing to attention a variety of writers to the reading publics attention. Ia Genberg for example is once again nominated with “Small Comforts,” which examines the complex relationship individuals have with money, and money’s influence on society as a whole – and of course one’s entire life. This same delineation was turned towards human connection in Genberg’s 2024 International Booker Prize shortlisted novel: “The Details.” “Small Comforts,” only continues to showcase Ia Genberg as the keen observer of the absurdity of the human condition and life itself.
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read
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