The Man Booker Shortlist

So, today's the day! Tonight at 9:30 (I think?) on BBC 4 there is the Man Booker Prize Giving and we will found out which book won. Tense! Will we get our preferred winner? We will see.

First, let's see who all the judges are this year:


Amanda Foreman (Chair): is ab award-winning historian and bestselling author 
Jon Day: works at King's College as a critic and lecturer, specialising in modern fiction
Abdulrazak Gurnah: previously shortlisted for theBooker Prize-shortlisted, professor at Kent uni 
David Harsent: University of Roehampton creative writing producer, poet, won 2014 T.S. Eliot prize 
Olivia Williams: starring in a National Theatre’s production of Harley Granville-Barker's Waste, actor.

I searched for a long time and none of the photos
of all the judges together load properly, so here is the chair: author and
historian Amanda Foreman.

So, an author, a critic and lecturer, another author and previous Man Booker nominee, poet and an actor. Good well rounded bunch; but I wonder what they're looking for - it always seems to be something different to us!

Onto the books, in no particular order:

A: Wild stuff! It took me a couple of graunchy starts to get into this but it is clever, witty and very American. The protagonist is black and has a bizarre upbringing and early experience which brings him to the conclusion that returning to slavery would be good for the black race in America, and this is then challenged in the Supreme Court. Great idea with some funny descriptions of early psychological experiments but not a book that gave me much pleasure to actually read because of the density of the writing. I can see how as a book in English it is really unusual so for that reason can see why its nominated. I'd be interested in talking about the humour...

J: probably witty, certainly informative on what it may feel like to be an African American, but too full of references I couldn't understand to be enjoyable, so ultimately boring. See full review here.

E: definitely witty, although quite difficult to read! The premise is completely insane and I'm not sure how the characters measure up in terms of reality. Another reason it was hard to read was the sheer amount of slang, specifically American ghetto slang. I gave up looking things after a while, but here are a few examples: druthers, bottle of bumpy-face, skrilla, pendajo, tchotchke, bromide... In the end it was better just to keep reading and sort of work out from the context of the word. The central protagonist is black and decides to bring back racism to his small (not) town. Dark, witty humour. I can see why it made the shortlist as there is such a lot to potential talk about the writing. Not really my sort of book, but still a contender and a good one. 

A: The setting and the language of north of Scotland was wonderfully evocative of the sounds and sense of the tradition of my childhood and holidays but the story was brutal and ultimately very very sad.  The other interesting thing was that it was surprisingly un suspenseful and didn't really draw me in with the discussion about the jury verdict. However a clever device to have a set of found documents about a distant ancestor to tell the story. I'd be interested in whether other people found it the compelling read I thought it was meant to be or did I miss the point? 

E: Not my kind of read normally, but it's great to branch out. What really didn't draw me to it was the fact that it was a memoir written by the accused, but then there was so much legalese and other things at the beginning, which mildly bored me. The account itself was more interesting. The fact that Macrae committed the murders in indisputable, but was he in sound mind? This seems like a much more modern concern. He's brought up in terrible circumstances but does that excuse him? ('He then brought my sister's head down towards the table and struck it repeatedly against the surface.') It interested me to a point, but it wasn't compelling despite the competent writing.

J: I haven't finished this one, but so far I find the main character unconvincing, and the whole situation too painful. Straightforward competent writing, not particularly interesting.

A: A pretty good book although very bleak. It's the story of a young woman living with an alcoholic and bullying father in a state of complete torpidity and boredom. In to this comes Rebecca, who becomes a beacon of some kind of change to Eileen and she follows her on a macabre and ultimately untruthful and disordered set of actions which bring  the story to a conclusion. The striking thing about it was the clever way the past and future of the main character were revealed just through the telling of their story set in the present of a week. No fancy flash backs or parallel stories. It has a huge sense of foreboding and disaster and tension but until the final thrilling event happened I hadn't any idea of what it was actually going to be. Very clever writing although some of the descriptive writing was clunky at times. Is it good enough to win - not sure what everyone would think? 

E:  Well, this doesn't tick the normal Man booker boxes! - it's easy to read, it's not in some other language, you don't need to have a dictionary to read it, it's not 800 pages long ... It is pretty dark, but not what I would considerate be 'literary.' and it's a very quick read! It's nice to have some shorter books amidst the huge tomes. Eileen, set in the 1960s, is the central protagonist (Eileen Dunlop) is in a dire life position; but she is writing from far on in the future, seemingly as an elderly woman. We know she survives the novel: 'This is the story of how I disappeared.' The story unfolds, pretty grimly. My problem with this book, I suppose, is what makes it stand out? It's one of the fast-expanding genre of women thrillers. It's a good, quick, enjoyable and easy read, but I don't see what makes it stand out. I think what made it was the writing: Moshfegh writes very well indeed but I don't see it as a winner. See full review here.

J: Well written, very atmospheric, not finally convincing or important enough.

A: Also interesting. It's the story of nine different men, away from home and its security and satisfaction with self and life, at different ages of their life. Although it's a different man and situation in each story I didn't feel cheated that the story didn't go on with them. However I'm overwhelmed by its sad and dismal portrayal of man or human-hood, despite being well written and clever in its language and structure. Not sure it's really polished or crafted enough to win. So does everyone feel the same or am I just overly swayed by the dismalness.?

E: I was really interested to read this from a female perspective because this is definitely all man is, not as in humankind. It doesn't paint a pretty picture; if this is what man is, then the key components are pettiness, huge egos, and need for sex. 't is comprised as nine short stories, each with entirely different protagonists, which immediately rang bells with me as being 'not a novel.' But who am I to judge that? The characters get gradually older, starting at the tender age of 17 (makes me feel very old!) right up to the ninth man who is in his sixties. They're from all over Europe: France, Budapest, briefly Oxford, Germany, Poland Geneva... I definitely enjoyed reading about the differing cultures. But, what does make it a novel? I suppose it's the connections between their stories. They're all men, and not particularly attractive characters: the first seven are absolutely obsessed with sex and have numerous affairs. As I said before, a pleasant picture is not created. Perhaps Szaly is commenting on the fact that nothing ever really gets better?

J: Well written, clever in the way the chapters linked but not quite clever enough to fully carry it off. Trivial.

E: As A said, this is mesmeric. The heat and the alcohol make the book feel like a sort of haze. Sofia and her 'disabled' mother go to Spain to seek out another quack cure for this mysterious ailment. No one sees through the complete fraud of this except the medic's daughter, Elena Ferrante, and, to some extent, Sofia herself: 'How was my Mother to drive with no feeling in her legs?' I really enjoyed this odd novel actually: skilfully written, chaos of the plot with the exploration of Elena's sex life and friendship with a girl she meets, and the clearly hypochondriac Mother. A potential winner? Not sure. Don't know which parts are real and which aren't.

J: Good fun, dreamy in a way that worked, very atmospheric, no pace, no direction, and very well written in an unconventional way that I enjoyed.

A: Interesting. Mesmeric and definitely hot with a feeling of waves of heat in the setting, the chaos of the plot and the exhausting and incomprehensible heat of the emotions. It is the story of a daughter accompanying her mysteriously ill mother to a Greek island clinic and doctor... Not a waste of trees for me, as (AJ) declared, but a clever and sketchily spare emotional drama played out in maddening heat. Not a winner for me either but I can see that it might grab others. I wonder whether it seems unreal to other people? I'm  not sure it's very believable but does that matter? 

E: There are a number of stories going on here: Ai-Ming in present day Canada, getting used to her cousin Li-Ming who has come directly from the Tianneman Square protests. What different lives they have lived. It is a story of fathers and daughters very much I would say. Ai-Ming has to learn to forgive her father, and Li-Ming has to learn to understand hers. What Thien has done is weave this complicated and very political plot with seminal Chinese moments, and yet brought it down to a personal level.It has inspired me to learn a lot more about China during the cultural revolution and beyond; it leaves me just gagging for more.Similarly, the amount of music there is in this book: a lot of Bach, some Shostakovich, some Profekiev. The writing was superb; horrific when needed, but not over the top. Thien's dialogue is particularly well crafted. I could've kept reading and reading. As a non-linear story, it was confusing at times, but it's worth working through it. I feel privileged to have read it. Superb. My Booker for 2016. See full review here.

A: And the best was last and I won't finish it before the Booker announcement but for me this gets the prize. I was absolute memorised by this book from its very start. The confidence and wonderful imagery of the writing just held me securely as I set out on the journey and I'm enjoying the meandering story telling. The flash back type structure seems to work well although I'm  writing down the names of the people and all their different incarnations and relationships to keep track. I love the multiple descriptive Chinese names of the characters, the evocation of music and the clever descriptions that juxtapose images in the way poetry does to help you grasp a new way of seeing things. I'm not sure where the story leads although it's already hinted at the future and I feel very held in the prospect of the journey.  Did everyone else find it lived up to its promise? It's a  complex of tales so I wonder if that distracts? 

J: Beautiful, clever, moving, informative, gripping. Clearly the winner!

So there we have it: we have a winner - but will the judges agree? We'll find out tonight on BBC4 at 9:30 tonight, hope to see you there!

The Man Booker Long List

Whew, a bit late this year - wrote this up a while ago, but it's taken a while to post. They've already announced the Short List now, of course, and the winner's next week, but I thought I'd post our book club's thoughts on the whole list. Very brief, mostly in note form, just to give you an idea. I can't even understand some of my own notes: people spoke very quickly!

This year the Booker Long List has: four American American authors, 1 from South Africa, six from the UK, and 2 Canada. So our worry that it was going to be taken over by Americans doesn't seem to be coming real...

The Sell Out (JT) - hard work, eventually worth it. Witty if able to be understood. Too American to get most references. Got going 3/4 way through. Best read fast. At the end got the point that being black in America it's impossible to not be aware of it. Black humour. childhood studies. reinstating slavery and segregates school. Radical, wacky. Maybe short list.

The Schooldays of Jesus JM Coetze (CN) - fascinated by Coetze. Strange challenging. Jesus doesn't appear in text. David recently been to Spanish country with mum and step father. Is David Jesus? Some parallels, might have been. David special, steadfast questions, strange school, disturbing events, previous/life next life perhaps. Easy to read. Simplicity misleading as confusing. Many interpretations. Maybe short list.

Serious Sweet (CG) - looong. Established author, side up comic, writes guardian articles. One day, 2 protagonists, middle aged man and woman start arranging a date, stuff keeps getting in the way. Stream of consciousness. Not nice people. Spin doctor for government, good with words. Up to date, Boris Johnson. Cynical. Funniest bits political. Not so bothered about date. Did divorce matter, seems a sideline while married people writing nice letters to women. Female, recovering alcohlic. Bankrupt accountant. Pays for letters. Thinking about date. Political diatribes all over the place, but soft idea of romance. 500 pages too tedious. Not short list.

Hot Milk (AJ) - better uses for trees, tedious. Mother daughter. To Greece for search for cure for ridiculous ailment, stereotypical characters, linear structure. Attempt to break from literary to poetic. Failed. Not short list.

His Bloody Project (CN) - suited title. Unendingly bleak&depressing but well written. Tiny hamlet Scotland 19th century. Violent killing of 3 people, 17 year old admitted and awaiting trial. Lengthy self written account of killings by boy encouraged by legal advisor. No self pity. Modern readers would sympathise with his awful upbringing, was he responsible or not? Suspense between whose fault it is. Extremely we'll done, but not nice. Maybe short list.

The Many (ET) - Nice to see debut novelist. Vague premise from the blurb. Man moves to isolated place to set up new home for wife and baby-to-be. Intriguing. Unwelcoming community. Moved into house of someone who died, shakes up village. Fishermen go out every day, usually catching nothing. Chilling premonition of what over-fishing and poisoning can do to our oceans. 'Who will buy this half-dead catch the sea has thrown up. Not restaurants, he’s sure of that. Perhaps the pharmas, hoping to extract god knows what from them.' Some bumper captures, but the fish are diseased, almost dead before they reach the surface. Governmental waits to take them away - possibly for testing? Frustratingly, we never know any more. Sparse writing, which makes sense as Menmuir also worked as an editor. Like a horror film when you're sitting on the edge of your seat waiting for something to happen... but nothing ever quite does. Effective writing unsatisfying. Probably not short list.

Hystopia (DF) - violence. Novel in a novel, by Vietnam war still going in 70s where Kennedy set up peace corps to brainwash people of bad experiences. Sometimes doesn't work, social breakdown - sent to Michigan. Lots of drugs, tracking Rake who wanders and kills at random. Would it have better about Iraq instead of alternate universe? V American, skulls, acid trips. Breakdown of American society, very American written, not personally enjoyable. Not particularly well written or vivid. Not short list.

My Name is Lucy Barton - uninspiring cover. Short. Well respected author. Linear narrative, but most are memories so not as such. Strange: main cha is in hospital for long time for unknown reason, away from family. Mother comes and remembers childhood. Cold, not enough to eat. Hints of things, piece together her life. Relationship with family took away from mother. Met published author and husband sent her on workshop, had some interaction. Piece together what defines you as a person. Nothing v dramatic, like spool of blur thread. Sparse writing, not as good. Individual's place in the family, quite an American thing. Delicate, strangely crafted. Hints, illusions, glimpses. Enjoyed. Good for short list.

Eileen (RA) - America 50-60s, woman, simply well written. Page turner, pedestrian parts. Linear. Thriller. Amazed it made the long list. Not literary but a good quick read. American author, New England. Short stories before won prizes. Young. Not literary enough for short list.

The North Water (AB) - the limits of flesh and blood, grotesque but well written. Violent account 1850s Hull whaling industry, less lucrative. Casualties accepted. Desperation - owners and sailors. Violent opening, central prot. rapes, kills and wound in first 8 pages. Gory, wild, vivid description. Redeemed by weather description. About water character itself, huge elemental force, huge animals. Compelling, how they survive etc, good characterisation. Linear structure, back stories emerge. Good length. Liked cover. Everyone would be compelled, but disgusted, disgusting language, will make short list because of superb writing. Wouldn't want to read it again, or recommend. Maybe shortlist for language.

Work like any other  (JC) - readable. Historical Alabama 1920s, man works for power company, wife inherits the farm and he hates it,implications for marriage. Wife cold. Son Gerard, close relationship - violent response from dad, competing attention. Sets farm free up as charade for electricity, but is found out and manages to electrocute himself - is it his fault? Black man and cha get arrested for death - he 20 years to prison, black guy to nine. Nice description, detailed of countryside, prison and electricity. Reputation for being educated, spotted by a guard so covers up for guard who can't read. Confusion? Like Shawshank redemption, he gets out, sort of failure, writes to wife, never responds. Hurt with dogs, hallucinating - did wife come? Comes out and finds that black guy runs the farm, swapped situations, he's in the shack. No happy ending. Not outstanding, but readable, is it realistic? Black family accepted? Flits different perspectives, times but easy to follow. Not short list.

The Short List Authors.

All That Man Is (CF) - established author, awards. Anomaly as set of short stories, dispirit characters, nine men. 17-73 year olds, what being a man is. Linear. Is this a novel? Opposite of chic lit - bloke lit! A lot of sex, making money, being successful. Why is this a Booker book? Economy of description, written well, but not interested in plot. Not into reading it. Through ages resonate more? Curious to keep going. Compared to William Boyd, Us. Odd. Readable, some compelling, but left pretty cold. Each story in different country, reflects cover, too light weight for short list.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing (CG) - third novel, established. Discovery of who father is when committed suicide at 19. Long. Basic history, linguistic characters, cultures corrupted continuity, generations, mon linear, China civil war. Could have been more of bits, only touched on things. Composers became examples to denounce. Thread running through of historic records, copying texts by hand, hidden, caught, persevering history. Narrator, daughter, finding out through fragments about father but doesn't read Chinese. Lyrical but sometimes dense language, bored and frustrated bogged down. Very long. Inconsistent. May make short list, draw diagrams yo make sense of. Story is gripping when you can find it!

OUR SHORT LIST - The Schooldays of Jesus, My Name is Lucy Bartlett, The North Water, The Sell Out, Do Not Say We Gave Nothing, His Bloody Project (Work like any other as a back up)

THE REAL SHORT LIST - Do Not Say We Have Nothing, His Bloody Project, Hot Milk, Eileen, All That Man Is, The Sell Out. 

As usual, our opinions's differ from the judges! We'll come back with a few reviews of the short list before the big reveal next week! Well done if you read this far! 

Wordless Wednesday: Man Booker Prize

Man Booker 2015

This is Us reading The Man Booker 2015.

...

Not really that impressed with the six finalists, if we're honest, and we didn't manage to read all of them, even between all of us. Anyway, here they are:

A Brief History of Seven Killings: well, E tried this one for 50 pages (as said before) and couldn't continue. The pidgin or Patois dialect was too difficult to decipher, and the characters were too extensive - even in 50 pages! Apparently, we're introduced to 75 different characters within the first 50-100 pages, so at least I doesn't feel quite so stupid! Still, obviously missing something here, as there must be something good in it for the nomination!

Satin Island: A tried it, and it was basically unintelligible. Another non starter.

The Fishermen:

The Year of the Runaways: E has read it, and A is partway through. Pretty good novel - darting between three men emigrated from India, and one woman, and their struggles there, and their pasts trials before moving. Quite a heavy read, but ultimately pretty good. Would have been more enjoyable with more of their lives in Britain, as it felt more interesting, but there needs to be a balance. A fairly good read.

A Spool of Blue Thread: as said before, a fantastic read. Just wonderful. In good hands from the offing. Recommend to anyone. However, it won't win as the judges look for something ground breaking and innovative in terms of structure or point-of-view etc, and this isn't it. What happened to just a Good Read? All the other titles are pretty horrific in their own ways and this isn't but was so compelling, and there's only so many awful things one can read. The world itself is bad enough.

A Little Life: E read this (not so little at 720 pages) one. Well, it is fantastically written, there's no doubt about it. You are completely inside the characters' (one in particular) heads, and feel with them. It's deftly constructed, has believable characters and a compelling storyline.

But.

I would not recommend this to anyone. Anyone. If you suffer/have suffered with any of the myriad difficulties explored, it is triggering, and a nightmare to read. Literally: I am dreaming about it. 'Impossible to put down... and impossible to forget...' I guess I agree with this review, but please don't read it. Apparently I was advised not to read it, but I only had this communicated to me two thirds of the way through the novel. I would have heeded the advice, and I pass it on wholeheartedly. Please don't read it.

Hanya Yanagihara (A Little Life) is predicted to win, according to 'The Bookies.' I hope it doesn't. I don't want anyone else to be exposed to it.

But we shall see!

Summing up Sunday 20th September

Not so good weather this week, sadly. A lot of rain, and a lot of fog. Still, we've had some wonderful evenings making the most of the last sun.

A has been on her wonderful Shibori dying course - which she talked about here! It's amazing what complicated things you can do with what originally seems like a simple process. And the blue is amazing. Of course.

J has spent the weekend visiting T and H in Cambridge - playing Norwegian Train Game, having breakfast out and visiting museums.

A and E went to visit S's orchard in the mist this morning (S is away all September) and came away with some veggie-ful spoils:

E has done a couple of craft projects: a bag for a 4-year-old just starting school, and a peg bag for M.J. 

Popoki continues to grow! She's got more of a run of the house now, which is good for independence, and the big cats are slowly getting used to her. She doesn't make things easy when she has endless endless energy, and you can almost hear her yowling: play with me play with me play with me! Such a joy to have though.

The Man Booker Shortlist was announced on Tuesday... to much disappointment. Two out of five books were damned by the book group, and one wasn't even read! At least the Anne Tyler made it through. The question now is: are we really going to read them all?

No Guardian Quiz - we forgot! Happy Sunday x

(We really need to get a move on with 26 books. It isn't that we haven't read lots - we have, honest! - it's just coordinating reading books from the right categories at around the same time. Might just have to start posting whenever one of us has read one, time's a ticking!)

Summing up Sunday 13th September

What we've been up to:

• A and E went on a hunt for more materials to weave into baskets from the hedgerows, after a lovely visit from E's 'good-father' and his wife. Both very successful, although A's basket is not quite finished...

• A, E and supporter E went to Cadbury Garden Centre to look at fish for supporter E's new fish tank! Difficult decisions, but a radical rethink from cold to tropical fish! Back to the drawing board with new heater and filter. Had a quick look round the bunnies and squeaky-pigs, but the craft section has gone! Very disappointing.

• Book Club discussing the Man Booker long list! Each person read one book and here are some choice comments.

The Chimes (JT): wonderfully enjoyable read, but possibly annoying if you don't have a background knowledge of musical terminology. Maybe not for the shortlist, as it reads a little like a young adult novel. Recommend to E and A particularly.

A Moor's Account (JC): retold story from a Moroccan slave character's point of view, reminded of 'Testament of Mary' from two years previous shortlist. Pretty good.

A Spool of Blue Thread (ET): regretting having never read Anne Tyler before! Beautifully formed novel, felt in very safe hands from the start. The kind of book where it isn't groundbreaking or dramatic, just an average family life, but you end up reading slowly - not wanting to read the end.

Satin Island (AJ): rather like the cover, this book was less interesting than watching paint dry. Didn't like the characters, plot or anything at all.

Sleeping on Jupiter (DW): set over a very short period of time (almost finished reading!) digging deep into the disparate protagonists. 

The Fishermen (CG): brilliant read, and a debut from a Nigerian author. It should make the short list! 

A Brief History of Seven Killings (ET... well, the first 50 pages): Not brief enough (700+ page book)

A Little Life (CG): found this a slog and too many characters to keep track of...

Did You Ever Have a Family (): 

The Green Road (AC): 

The Illuminations (AB): a good read, though not groundbreaking. The two interwoven stories came together slightly clunkily, and one story was more compelling than the other; maybe the extreme contrast improved it though. A not very believable ending soured the climax.

Lila (RA): hadn't read the two others in the trilogy, although it seemed okay to stand alone; Marianne Robinson is probably more established in the US? Stream of consciousness writing, would rather have had points to stop because you can't say 'I'll stop when I finish the chapter!' But a great read and should make the shortlist! 

The Year of the Runaways (CN): enjoyed, though not finished yet. Sometimes don't want to hear so much about suffering, seemed to be a very 'worthy' book. Seems similar to 'Five Star Billionaire' on the long list two years previously.

• Not one, but two weddings! (or three if you count T and H at another in another part of the country). J and A to cousin J's wedding to T (very relaxed, family affair at a registry office), and E with two supporters (thank you J and M!) to an old school friend's. Very contrasting - church wedding, lovely tipis for the reception (though they didn't go), beautiful decorations, wedding car, amazing dress, the works! Moving ceremony and very grateful to be invited, and able to go.

• The Winscombe Michaelmas Fair! For the first time in a long while, A wasn't there organising on the day! Quite nice to have a break, although she still missed it a bit. E entered photos, flowers and some craft things - and a good haul of certificates back, although disappointed at the photo compilations not being ranked. Still: two firsts, four seconds, one third and one highly commended. Just a shame about the photos.

(Winning collage of the sheep - a bday present for Alison, and each sheep is made from her own wool!)

 

(Losing photos on the theme of texture)

• J stayed overnight in Devon after the wedding, and now A has left for a shibori dyeing course at West Dean until Thursday! Should be good fun.

• 5/15 on Guardian Quiz. Did you know that Princess Anne was the first senior royal to commit a criminal offence? She had dangerous dogs. (We didn't).

Happy Sunday! If you're reading, give us a comment :)