Booker Prize Longlist 2018
martin_z
5 years ago
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Rosefolly
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vee_new
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Booker Prize Longlist, 2012
Comments (14)At last - a book worth reading on the longlist. Philida by Andre Brink is a book about a slave called Philida in South Africa in the early part of the nineteenth century, approaching the emancipation of the slaves. It talks about a history of which I knew nothing - for that reason alone, it's fascinating. It's beautifully written, and a good story - based on real events. However, be warned - it has some fairly graphic descriptions of some unpleasant events. But one I'd expect to make the shortlist. So far, I would bet on The Garden of Evening Mists, Bringing Up the Bodies and Philida making the short-list. I have read five others, which range from "good, but not Booker winner good" to "how on earth did this even get published"? Perhaps I might try Communion Town after all......See MoreThe Booker Prize 2014 - Longlist
Comments (10)As I say, I'm disappointed that David Mitchell didn't make it. However, when I look at it dispassionately, I'm probably not surprised. It's six interconnecting stories, over the course of one woman's lifetime. However, there is a "fantasy" element about the stories; and in particular, the fifth story is exclusively about this fantasy element. It's not too much of a stretch to say that the fifth story is a battle between good and evil. It's perhaps a little too off-the-wall for a Booker short-list. I enjoyed it a lot, but it's certainly not as good, in my opinion, as Cloud Atlas. There's a nice bit of self-referentialism (is that a word?) in The Bone Clocks. An author tells his agent that he is planning a book which is going to be "a bit fantasy"; his agent says to him that a book can't be a bit fantasy, any more than a woman can be a bit pregnant....See MoreReading in July
Comments (152)I am on the third book of my exploration of Gothic literature. Unlike The Castle of Otranto, which is made up of one suspense scene after another, The Old English Baron is long-winded, wordy and full of exposition and the author manages to kill the thrill of the handful of suspense scenes almost before they begin, by explaining too much. I am now reading Vathek by William Beckford, and find it is the first of these books that I would call a full-blown Gothic novel. As well as being an influential on the Gothic genre, it also influenced the fantasy and horror genres, and both Keats and Byron, as well as Poe and Lovecraft, were influenced by it. It is highly entertaining and Beckford mixed together an Oriental setting with Gothic elements like supernatural happenings, villainy and dark deeds, and added both humour and horror to the mix....See MoreBooker Prize Shortlist 2018
Comments (11)And the winner is..... Milkman by Anna Burns. The first writer from Northern Ireland to win the Booker. Well, that was unexpected. Clearly even by her - she hadn't got any acceptance speech ready or anything...quite overwhelmed. My apologies - I've been so busy this year, I've hardly managed to read any of the books. I've finished just one on the shortlist, and started three others. It's not that they were particularly hard, it's just I couldn't knuckle down to doing a decent chunk of reading. It's quite impressive that The Overstory kept my attention as it's comfortably the longest on the list. Halfway through The Mars Room - must finish it. It's a good yarn, but felt a bit like a novelisation of Orange is the New Black... So - then I'll retry Milkman. Perhaps I'll try it as an audiobook - apparently it works well - I've got a couple of free books on Audible....See More
sheri_z6
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yoyobon_gw
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agomartin_z
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