The Underground Railroad is the only one I've read . . . certainly different.

I always look forward to following Martin's reading of and comments about the Booker Prize contenders each year. Thanks for sharing this annual tradition with us, Martin!

Thanks for posting the list, Martin! I'm only familiar with a few of the books listed, but I was excited to see Ali Smith there. I loved How To Be Both, and I just ordered a copy of Autumn. I'll be interested to hear what you think of them.

Have you seen that The Underground Railway has won the Arthur C Clarke award for the best Sci-fi novel of the year? Really??

History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

Well, the fact that I'm reviewing this only a day after the longlist came out tells you something - and indeed, I found the book absolutely rivetting. It's a story (first person, looking back) about a teenage girl and her relationship with a woman, her husband and their young son. They are all living near a lake, out in the middle of nowhere in the woods. There is also another parallel story about one of her school friends and a teacher.

It's not quite clear to me what the author is trying to say with the two stories. I think it needs a re-read, and I would be very happy to do so if it is shortlisted. Will it be short-listed? Not sure. I'll get back to you.

So - do I recommend it? Yes, with no reservations, but don't expect a clear simple narrative.

Martin, I can't see how the Underground Railroad has been classed as Sci-Fi. Certainly one has to suspend some belief as to the meaning of 'railroad' in a conventional way, but no hints of little green men or aliens.

Regarding Underground Railroad being classified as Sci-Fi, here's a quote from The Guardian:
Award director Tom Hunter called the novel a “much deserved winner” and “a tribute to Sir Arthur’s original intent that the award be as inclusive as possible in defining its genre”.

Inclusive indeed. A bit like Bob Dylan winning the Nobel Prize for Literature.

What? Nothing by Ian McEwan listed this time? I admire his work.

Mary, I believe his latest book Nutshell has only just come out so wouldn't have 'qualified' for entry into this year's Long List.

About 'Railroad' Well said Kathy!

Actually. Nutshell came out in September last year, so would have qualified for the 2016 Booker - but it wasn't longlisted.

Autumn by Ali Smith

This is lovely. It's about the relationship between Elizabeth (a child, then a young woman) and Daniel (an old man, who becomes even older); it's also about her relationship with her mother, and about a pop-artist called Pauline Boty (who did exist - the only female pop-artist), and about the Brexit referendum, and....

It's not really a story, but I loved it - I can't wait to read it again when it's short-listed (I hope!)

If you enjoyed How to be both - particularly if you enjoyed Camera (the modern part) - then I think you'll enjoy this. If you didn't get on with How to be both, don't bother with this!

This is the first of a projected series of four books. The second comes out later this year, and is called Winter. No prizes for guessing what the other two are going to be called.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

I've abandoned this after forty pages. The style is irritating the proverbial out of me. I'll give it another go if it's shortlisted.

(A Bardo is a sort of transitional place between death and life, if you're interested.)

I just downloaded 4-3-2-1 from the library last night. I'll let y'all know what I think!

Donna

Sending 4321 back to the library. I didn't even finish chapter 1. He goes on and on, from one thing to another, in very long paragraphs. There is no place to "rest". Stream-of-consciousness comes to mind. Since I didn't get through 30 pages (the first chapter) I didn't think I could get through 900 pages of that.

Donna

Donna - Oh my, that sounds like a dreary experience. I too hate those long paragraphs. I wonder what it is that the Booker list-makers see in this type of book that the rest of us can't see?

Kathy, I read the synopsis on the library's website and it sounded pretty interesting! I guess there are much more literary minds than mine that determine what should be in the running for a prize.

Maybe it changes style a little farther in.

Donna

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

OK, I know I said I'd abandoned it, but for some reason it drew me back. I started again, and this time I got through it.

Mmmm. Basically, it's about a bunch of - well, ghosts, I suppose - who live in a between-death-and-heaven existence, who are concerned about Lincoln's son who doesn't seem to be going to heaven as quickly as he should be...and it's written in a strange style where each item spoken is written as a paragraph with the name of the person underneath it - sort of like loads of footnotes. It's most odd.

It's very readable, once you get past the style. But it's such a strange story. Quite silly, actually.

Not convinced. But I wouldn't be surprised if it is shortlisted, nevertheless.

Martin, I just checked out Lincoln in the Bardo to try on vacation. I'll let you know what I think!

Donna

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.

It's won the Pulitzer, and has had loads of other praise, so it must be a good bet for the shortlist.

It's about a slavegirl in around 1840 who escapes from a plantation, and is chased by a slave-catcher through the southern states, via the Underground Railroad - a railway which is used by escaped slaves to travel. The Underground Railroad is real in the book, but obviously never really existed, so I guess that's the fantasy part of it - but it's not Science Fiction by any real standards. Heaven knows what the Arthur C Clarke prize people were thinking. I think myself it's a convenient mechanism so that the author can tell the stories of different parts of the South with the same people.

It's a terrific story - couldn't put it down.

And yet, it didn't quite do it for me. It reminded me a lot of The Road by Cormac McCarthy - people fleeing to some possible better place through dreadful times. It also reminded me of Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, though I can't think why. Certainly, it's a very American novel.

But, it all seemed so predictable. Wonderful writing, and some fascinating events. But in the end, it's basically a violent thriller - the goodie is being chased by the baddie though lots of dangers - can she escape? Has she got to somewhere safe, or will she have to move on? And (very minor spoiler) in my opinion, the ending is desperately corny.

I expect it'll be shortlisted. But I wouldn't be too surprised if it wasn't.

Swing Time by Zadie Smith

Gave up on this. It's about two women, one a dancer, one a singer, who are friends from childhood. Wasn't interested in either of them. But my daughter is reading it and enjoying it, so I'll ask her to review it when she's finished it.

Martin, the Underground Railroad was real; it just wasn't underground or a railway. It consisted of safe houses from south to north, and there are some houses that are now museums along the routes. It was the escapees' desire to reach Canada because if they were caught in the U.S., even in the north, there was a chance they could be returned to their plantations.

Carolyn - thanks. I think I knew that, though I suspect it's something people are taught in History classes in the US, though not in the UK. What I meant was that it is LITERALLY real in the book - it is an actual underground railway, with underground stations and steam-trains. I perhaps didn't make that clear.

No, that makes quite a difference! I was taught in history class that if the cotton gin had been invented ten years earlier, the Civil War would not have been necessary.

Carolyn I notice over at the Hot Topics site they have a hate fest going on concerning the US Civil War and the removal of commemorative statues etc . . . I didn't realise the battle-lines were still so clearly defined with anything from the South very bad yet all areas 'Northern' are lands of fulfilled promise.

Martin I read this when it first came out and found the idea of a 'real' railroad difficult to take in and very much got the feeling that the various 'adventures' of the fleeing slave girl had been gleaned from newspaper reports from those times and turned into one long harrowing narrative.

Yes - my daughter has also read it - she felt that it was a slightly lazy technique to avoid telling the stories of the journeys between the various places. I don't entirely agree with her - I think the author is trying to make some sort of point - but I don't really understand what it's all about.

btw Vee - you've mentioned on another thread that you've just finished a "difficult" Booker contender, so you're now read for The Handmaid's Tale. Do you mind if I ask which that is - and what you thought of it? Or was that just a reference to The Underground Railroad?

Martin, it was an 'old' Booker, Ishiguro's When we were Orphans which I think came out in about 2000? You probably remember it from . . . can it really be 17 years ago!

I wrote a brief outline of it on this August's reading thread.

Yes, Vee, lots of controversy on the statues. My very own city sent away a statue of Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy. Kentucky was the birth place of both Davis and Abraham Lincoln as well as being a somewhat divided border state that did not secede. It was mostly made up of small farms rather than large plantations and not in the cotton producing areas, so most families farmed their own acreage. Lots of tobacco was raised here until the latter part of the 1900s. It was the big cash crop of many farmers, including my own family.

I find the current hostility toward any reference to the Confederacy to be very disturbing! I was born in Florida, grandparents from Georgia, so it's part of my heritage.

I'm reading Lincoln in the Bardo. It's very weird, but I'm enjoying it. I know some of the quotes are real sources, but some are obviously fiction. As Martin said, the style is very odd, but it's an interesting story.

Donna

Swing Time - Zadie Smith

As I said above, I abandoned this - but my daughter read it, and here is her review.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

tl;dr a bit meh

'Swing Time' tells the story of our narrator's past and present, recounting her childhood with her friend Tracey and her adult life with her pop-star employer Aimee.

'Swing Time' switches between two time frames; the narrator's 'present day' (which is about 2005) and the narrator's past, which ultimately catches up to the present day. I felt this was a really interesting narrative which didn't really work for me because I wasn't very interested in one of the time frames. The narrator's past unfolded really well and I truly cared about her relationships with Tracey and her mother. On the other hand, the 'present day' narrative felt a bit like a philanthropic Devil Wears Prada. Think about it, an assistant dealing with a demanding boss, don't tell me you're not imagining Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed and I think part of this is because all the media hype surrounding 'Swing Time' uses the premise 'two friends: both are similar and yet are so different', when really that is one plot point. Perhaps I would've enjoyed it more as two separate books. Having said that, yesterday morning I was 60% of the way through and I finished it late last night, so it must've had some impression on me.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She was surprised it was long-listed, and would be very surprised to see it shortlisted.

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster

Oh, wow. This is just wonderful.

It's long, yes. Paul Auster said in an interview - I know the book is an elephant, but I hope it's a sprinting elephant. Well, it certainly sprinted for me. It has long sentences, yes (though never what I would describe as stream-of-consciousness); it occasionally meanders - but it takes the reader through a fascinating story (or set of stories) to a satisfying conclusion.

Basically, it's about a young man called Archie Ferguson. Chapter 1.0 is the story of his ancestors, from his grandfather arriving in New York to his birth in 1947. Then chapters 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 are four different stories of Archie - four different "what-if?" sequences. And of course, chapters 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4 etc up to 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4 are the continuation of the stories to the end of the sixties.

It can be confusing - you need to have your wits about you. It's been done before (Sliding Doors, Blind Chance are two films with that idea). But it's beautifully done.

I loved it. Please let it be shortlisted.

Just one other little point - Ferguson was born on March 3rd 1947. Paul Auster was born on Feb 3rd 1947....you have to wonder if there is some autobiographical element to 4 3 2 1....

This is quite an interesting interview in the Guardian, from last January, though it does have some minor spoilers for the book.

I finished Lincoln in the Bardo today. It was a very strange story, but there were a lot of times it really made me think. Some of the characters in the Bardo were really creepy; I think if it was made into a movie it would be very scary.

On to something lighter!

Donna

My book club will be discussing The Underground Railroad next week. It is the only one on this list I've read, or indeed heard of, though several of the authors are familiar ones. I believe it is being described as magical realism.

I liked it reasonably well, and it gave me food for thought. I found it worth reading. but I'm unlikely to re-read it.

Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie

I've abandoned this after fifty pages. Something happened which just completely jars with me - I simply found it utterly unconvincing. Given I wasn't that excited about the people in the book either, I've given it up.

But my daughter has taken up the challenge of finishing the books I've abandoned, so there might be a review later on!

Now onto Solar Bones.

Solar Bones by Mike McCormack

This is, in my opinion, another gem.

It's basically the story of an Irishman and his wife and two grown-up children - first person. The hero of our story is an engineer who works for the town council, and frequently finds his engineering concerns have to take second place to political concerns. It's also about his relationship with his wife and his two children; one is an artist, the other is bumming around Australia.

But the style is, at first, very off-putting. The whole novel is basically a single sentence...it's split into paragraphs, it's clear when dialogue occurs..but it is, basically, a stream of consciousness. But it's amazingly readable. And I absolutely loved it. Even if it's not short-listed, I'll re-read it - it needs to be taken a bit more slowly, to appreciate some of what he says, and how he says it. It's poignant, moving, desperately sad in some places - it's wonderful.

It would probably be a wonderful audiobook.

Will it be shortlisted? Probably not. Would I like it to be? OMG, yes.

On to Reservoir 13.

Back to The Underground Railroad, my bookclub had our discussion last week. I thought it was an interesting book and I enjoyed reading it, but I didn't fall in love with it as I do my favorite books.

My favorite part was railroad itself. When I was a child, I thought there really was a escape route for slaves that tunneled under the earth with a train going through it. This concept fascinated me. When some adult told me that it was actually a series of safe houses, I thought it was a cheat. So when the author made it real in his book, that made me very happy.

Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor

Another good one. A young teenage child has disappeared in a village; the book starts with the search party being organized. At first you think that the book is going to be about the disappearance and discovery of the child - but in fact, it is not. It has thirteen chapters, each of which covers a year in the village, following many of the characters as their lives change through the year. Over it all hangs the oppression of the child being missing - is she ever going to be found?

Each paragraph tends to cover lots of different subjects; it could jump from a bunch of teenagers discussing the missing child, to a potter and his work, to the badgers in the wood. I didn't like it at first, but I found more and more that it drew me in - and in the end, I couldn't put it down.

There is no real story - but that doesn't really matter.

Will it be shortlisted? Probably not; but I wouldn't complain if it were.

So - shortlist prediction time!

The shortlist comes out on Wednesday; I have read (or tried to read) ten of the thirteen. That's enough to make a stab at it. And I reckon that this is the best longlist I've seen for several years.

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster - I'd be surprised and upset if it wasn't shortlisted
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry - didn't finish it, but I think it'll be shortlisted.
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund - I enojoyed it, but I don't think so.
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid - I'm going to try to read this before Wednesday - I'll let you know.
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack - I don't think so, but I'd be delighted if it were.
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor - I don't think so, but I wouldn't object
Elmet by Fiona Mozley - not read yet.
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy - not read yet
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders - interesting. I didn't really like it, but it might be shortlisted.
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie - abandoned - didn't like it.
Autumn by Ali Smith - liked it - it might be shortlisted
Swing Time by Zadie Smith - abandoned - didn't like it. But it'l probably be shortlisted.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - overhyped, in my opinion, but will probably be shortisted.

So - I suspect the shortlist will be 4-3-2-1, Days Without End, Ministry of Utmost Happiness (just because it's her first since The God of Small Things, which won the Booker), Underground Railroad, Lincoln in the Bardo and Swing Time.

The shortlist I'd like to see, based on the ones I've read, would be 4-3-2-1, Solar Bones, Reservoir 13, Autumn, Days Without End and either History of Wolves or Exit West, if I like it.

So, on to Exit West.

Again, Martin, thanks so much for sharing your Booker project with us each year. It's fun to read your reflections on it. So far, your description of Reservoir 13 intrigues me the most.

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

He's been shortlisted before, for The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which we discussed here. But I don't think he'll be shortlisted this time.

It's a bit hard to describe. Saeed and Nadia are young people in an unnamed, but presumably Middle East city, which is overrun with refugees and eventually is taken over by rebels, again presumably Muslim fundamentalists. So they decide to leave, via some "doors" which allow them to literally move to another place. These doors become more and more common, and people use them to move to different places, causing huge refugee issues in various countries. We follow them to Mykanos, London, and then San Francisco. In each place, they are basically refugees, being treated in a different way by different people.

I guess it's just a discussion of the refugee/immigrant situation in the world, from the point of view of refugees, taken to an extreme conclusion, with a bit of sci-fi thrown in. But I don't really get it; seems a bit weird.

Like the train in the Underground Railroad, the doors seem to be a trick to avoid discussing the actual journeys.

It's short, and quite easy to read; I read it in one sitting. But I don't think I really like it. Not anywhere near as good as The Reluctant Fundamentalist, to my mind.

I'd be surprised if it is shortlisted, and so my prediction above has not changed.

Travelling all day tomorrow, so I'll have no chance to read any more - so that's my lot. 11/13 - not too bad.