Longlist- Man Booker International Prize 2016

[Maxwell]

I will post the longlist here when it is announced on March 10, 2016.

[Michelle]

The longlist has been announced. I was excited to see I've actually read one of the books on the list. I added five of the titles to my TBR.

[Maxwell]

It's here!! http://themanbookerprize.com/news/man...

[hanna]

I'm so excited! Putting them all on my tbr now :):)

[Robert]

Wow - I didn't expect the longlist to be THIS good!!!

[Alan]

Only read two of the novelists previously (Agualusa and Pamuk). I'm looking forward to the new Agualusa, sounds interesting. I'm assuming Mend the Living is the same book as The Heart? Most of those books are really short :)

Ones that look the most interesting to me:

A General Theory of Oblivion
The Heart (Mend the Living?)
The Four Books
White Hunger
The Whole Life

[Neil]

This looks really interesting.

I notice one book is the fourth in a series. Not sure that's the best place for me to start reading those!

Definitely going to read some of the others, though.

[Britta]

Great list! And hard to choose what to read...
I am considering
- Han Kang, The Vegetarian (has been on my list for some time)
- Seethaler, Whole Life (I loved his previous book 'Der Trafikant, which will be published in English in October)
- Agualusa, General Theory of Oblivion

What are you guys planning on reading?

[Robert]

I already ordered the vegetarian and a cup of rage (it's only 64 pages) I have the elena ferrante one but i haven't read the previous three volumes.

[Doug]

Read 'The Vegetarian' last month (as I am one!) - short, weird and interesting; may be a good place for people to start.

[Cataluna6]

I've had The Vegetarian and Death by Water sitting waiting for ages. I need to crack on and make a start!

[Jill]

I read the Vegetarian and the Ferrante. I just ordered Seethaler's book and will try Death by Water. I had never even heard of the remainder of the list, so that will be interesting to try some new books/authors!

[Jenny]

I found Tram 83 on Overdrive so I will probably try that one first.

[Lisa (LiteraryLatinax)]

They all sound good. I'm most interested in A General Theory of Oblivion, Man Tiger, A Cup of Rage and The Vegetarian. Can't wait to explore these authors that are new to me.

[Maxwell]

Since I happen to be caught up with the Ferrante series, my first read will be the 4th book (The Story of the Lost Child). After that, I'm definitely interested in The Vegetarian and The Heart/Mend the Living (which I discovered are the same book). Can't wait to start reading and discussing this with you all! They sound amazing.

[Kay]

These all look wonderful. I have only heard of 3 before so I am excited to venture into some new territory.

[Becky]

I read The Vegetarian last week and really loved it, so I'm thrilled it made the long list! My library has The Four Books and Death by Water, so I'll check those out and get started. Also ordered as many of the other books as I could through my library (I'm the fiction selector there so ha! I have secret powers and can make the library buy what I want!).

I would like to try and read all 13 if possible, although I can guarantee that's probably not going to happen by the time the short list is announced haha!

[Raquel]

I'm really exited that two books that were originally written in my mother tongue got nominated so I'll read those for sure (A General Theory of Oblivion and A Cup of Rage). I'm also really interested to read the Neapolitan novels but I'm not sure I can commit to another series right now. As for the rest of the titles I'll have to check the synopsis to see what really appeals to me!

[Kelly]

What's the first one you guys are going to read?! Post about! I'm trying to decide. If you have any suggestions...Super excited!

[Alan]

Just started reading A Whole Life. I've read the first 30 pages so far and really enjoying it. I'm linking the fact it's nothing fancy. Just great writing, a simple story and a really interesting central character.

[Neil]

Kelly wrote: "What's the first one you guys are going to read?! Post about! I'm trying to decide. If you have any suggestions...Super excited!"

I started The Vegetarian this evening. I'll go with Doug's summary - weird and interesting!

[Toby]

I just bought 6 books, and 3 were from the longlist. A Whole Life, The Vegetarian, and A General Theory of Oblivion. They all are so intriguing, can't wait to start them.

[Kelly]

Neil wrote: "Kelly wrote: "What's the first one you guys are going to read?! Post about! I'm trying to decide. If you have any suggestions...Super excited!"

I started The Vegetarian this evening. I'll go with ..."

I was thinking of starting with either that one or The Whole Life. Thank you!!

[Geoffry]

I bought The Vegetarian yesterday, so I'll start with that one.

[Charlie]

I'm very keen on reading The Vegetarian, Death by Water, A Whole Life and A General Theory of Oblivion.

Looking forward to all the discussions!

[Neil]

I have now read The Vegetarian and A General Theory of Oblivion. For me, the first was OK, the second was excellent. I am now about to decide which one to download onto my Kindle next.

[Michelle]

I finished White Hunger and picked up Man Tiger. So far, Man Tiger is super engaging.

[Alan]

I finished A Whole Life this morning. A beautifully simple book. I think I'm going to start on The Four Books next.

[Michelle]

I was extremely impressed by Man Tiger.

[Isabel]

I'm really enjoying Man Tiger. The writing style is really captivating.

[Breanne]

I'm going to read 12 of the 13 books! I'm skipping the Ferrante for now since I have not started that series yet. I will probably just read the list in order.

[Neil]

Breanne wrote: "I'm going to read 12 of the 13 books! I'm skipping the Ferrante for now since I have not started that series yet. I will probably just read the list in order."

Me, too! I'm sure the Ferrante deserves to be on the list, but I can't see a reason for reading it if you haven't read any of the first three.

[Maxwell]

This might already be obvious to most people but I wanted to clarify: do NOT read the Ferrante novel if you have not read the first 3 books in the series. That being said, you should all read the series because it's *amazing* and definitely deserves the recognition. Happy reading!

[Maxwell]

Anya- yes they are chronological so you have to read the previous 3 to understand everything that culminates in the 4th and final novel.

[Karen]

Maxwell wrote: "Since I happen to be caught up with the Ferrante series, my first read will be the 4th book (The Story of the Lost Child). After that, I'm definitely interested in The Vegetarian and The Heart/Mend..."

I am very interested in people's view of the ending in The Story of the Lost Child. I read a few months ago, and it still haunts me.

[Maxwell]

How is everyone doing with the longlist? Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to any yet due to other books/general craziness of life. I'm planning on at least reading the Ferrante soon, and then probably waiting until the shortlist is announce to decide which of the remaining books to read, since I can't buy them all and my library doesn't have all of them. It's tough not being in the UK & Europe where most of them are more readily available.

[Neil]

I have read five of them so far: The Vegetarian, A General Theory Of Oblivion, Man Tiger, Mend The Living and A Strangeness In My Mind.

I've enjoyed them all, probably more than I thought I would. I especially liked Mend The living. I found The Vegetarian rather disturbing, but some comments posted by others helped me get a fresh perspective on it.

[Robert]

At the moment I've got five of the books on the longlist - vegetarian, tram 83, Man Tiger, The Whole Life and a Cup of Rage plus a General Theory of Oblivion is on the way but due to other commitments I'm waiting for the end of April to read them.

[Britta]

I am reading The Vegetarian now and have Tiger Man waiting. I dont think I will be getting 'round to more of the longlist before the shortlist is announced. But Mend the Living sounds interesting, and also General Theory of Oblivion.

[Neil]

Britta - I think Mend The Living and A General Theory Of Oblivion are my two favourites so far - definitely both worth reading.

[Britta]

Neil wrote: "Britta - I think Mend The Living and A General Theory Of Oblivion are my two favourites so far - definitely both worth reading."

Ok, thanx!

[Paul]

I've read 10 of the 13 so far - just Man Tiger, Ladivine and a Whole Life to go.

Based on those 10, Mend The Living and A General Theory Of Oblivion are both contenders, particularly Mend the Living, but I'd rank them both behind The Vegetarian, The Lost Child and Death by Water.

My Shelf

Although for the Vegetarian I'm a little biased as I love Korean literature, and actually Human Acts by the same author is a stronger work.

[Karen]

As I mentioned before I have read the Ferrante book, and loved the whole series, but I am now reading The Vegetarian, and I really like it.
I agree with Paul on Korean literature. I read I'll Be Right There by Kyung-sook Shin last year and thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Beverly]

I am behind in reading the Longlist. There are several I am interested in reading even if they do not make the shortlist - A General Theory of Oblivion, Tram 83, Ladivine.

Since I have not read any of the Ferrante series - I will have to read the prior books before reading The Story of the Lost Child. This sounds like a summer reading project for me.

[Maxwell]

Wow you all are so impressive! I feel like a bit of a failure this time around, but I'm glad this group exists to facilitate so much excitement and discussion around the prize. It seems like The Vegetarian is a popular one. So maybe that's one I'll have to invest in. Happy reading!

[Emelie]

I LOVED The Vegetarian. Such a well written book from multiple perspectives and an interesting study on metal illness, obsession and how it affects those around you.
Here's a link to my review but you will definitely want to check this one out! Well worth the time. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Love]

My first book was Man Tiger. I thought that it was an enjoyable story. It took a while for me to read it, but I'm in a bit of a reading slump this month.

[Paul]

OK that's all 13 completed for me.

Reviews here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

In order of my preferences:

1. The Vegetarian, by Han Kang, tr. Deborah Smith
2. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante, tr. Ann Goldstein.
3. Death by Water, Kenzaburō Ōe, tr. Deborah Boliver Boehm
4. Ladivine, Marie NDiaye, tr. Jordan Stump
5. Mend the Living, Maylis de Kerangal, tr. Jessica Moore
6. White Hunger, Aki Ollikainen, tr. Emily Jeremiah and Fleur Jeremiah
-------------------------------
7. A Strangeness in My Mind, Orhan Pamuk, tr. Ekin Oklap
8. A General Theory of Oblivion, José Eduardo Agualusa, tr. Daniel Hahn
9. Tram 83, Fiston Mwanza Mujila, tr. Roland Glasser
10. The Four Books, Yan Lianke, tr. Carlos Rojas
11. Man Tiger, Eka Kurniawan, tr. Labodalih Sembiring
12. A Whole Life, Robert Seethaler, tr. Charlotte Collins
13. Cup of Rage, Raduan Nassar, tr. Stefan Tobler

The first five on my list stand out but any of those from 6-11 could squeeze into my shortlist.

[Neil]

I will finish Tram 83 tonight and then have 3 short ones to read, so I will post my thoughts on a shortlist early next week, I hope.

Paul, from what I have read so far, I think my list will look similar with the main exception being that I simply didn't get Death By Water, so will not include it in my top 6, but I am really liking Tram 83, so will put that quite high up. I am undecided on The Vegetarian.

I still have to read White Hunger, A Whole Life and A Cup Of Rage, but that isn't a very high page count!

[Neil]

I should add that I am not reading the Ferrante book due to having not read any of the books in the series. That might be a significant omission from my final list.