Booker Longlist 2019
martin_z
4 years ago
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annpanagain
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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 MoreBooker Prize Longlist, 2006
Comments (8)I've read Black Swan Green which I enjoyed a lot, The Night Watch which was pretty good, and Theft which I found hard going. (I'm not a Peter Carey fan, I have finally admitted). I have bought today In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar. It's set in Libya in 1979, and told from the eyes of a nine-year-old boy - so we understand much better than he does what is going on. Enjoying it a lot so far. The Barry Unsworth is not out yet, but I'm looking forward to that. And I can't resist a book called Kalooki Nights!...See MoreBooker Prize Longlist 2016
Comments (20)OK. So I got about a third of the way through The Year of the Runaways, and abandoned it. It's all a bit depressing - a bunch of illegal immegrants in Sheffield working in the building trade and a back story for each of them about how they got there. I don't know - it just all seems a bit too bleak. Also very irritatingly, a lot of Indian words were used with no glossary. Most of the time, I can guess from context, but occasionally, I had not idea at all what was going on. I'll revisit it if it's shortlisted. I've read The Green Road by Anne Enright. I liked it more than her Booker winner The Gathering, but it's still a bit meh. It's a story of a family in Ireland, most of whom move away, what happened to them, and what happened when they all came back at Christmas. I dunno - haven't I read this so many times before? Now reading The Fishermen. It's basically the story of four brothers in a family in Nigeria. I'll keep going for a while, but again - a bunch of kids doing what kids do. Sigh. I dunno - I didn't like Satin Island, but at least it was a bit original. On first reading, it's certainly not going to be a vintage year. A Spool of Blue Thread is now on my Kindle. But I've read here and there that this is going to be Anne Tyler's last novel, and a cynical little part of me wonders whether it was long-listed just because.......See MoreBooker Short List 2019
Comments (7)OK - we're off. I could not resist reading The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. It is very good indeed. It's actually three intertwining "testaments" of two young women and Aunt Lydia (whom we remember from The Handmaid's Tale), which tells quite an exciting story. We also find out a bit about Aunt Lydia's backstory. I'm not surprised it was longlisted, but I'm a bit surprised that it was shortlisted. It's very good - but it has two flaws as far as I'm concerned. The first is minor - it seems to me to not have the same impact as The Handmaid's Tale - it's more of a thriller than an exploration via a novel of what happens in a place like Gilead. There is some of the exploration, but in the end, it's feels like it's wriiten as a thriller. (I felt the same about The Wall, by John Lanchester.) The second flaw is far more significant - I don't think it stands up as a single book. I don't think you'd make any sense of the book if you hadn't either read The Handmaid's Tale or seen at least some of the TV dramatization. To me, that is enough to put it out of contention - I don't think a book can be considered as a contender as "best book of the year" if it can't be read as a stand-alone book, without any knowledge of a previous story. So - good book, but I hope it doesn't win. It's not as if she needs the prize money, anyway! Next up is Ducks, Newburyport. I like to support the little publishers!...See Morewoodnymph2_gw
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