The Mookse and the Gripes discussion
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Booker Prize for Fiction
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2020 Booker Prize Speculation
I read Reproduction last month. It's the kind of formally playful postmodern text that excites some people and enrages others. :-)
Robert's predictions look great! I think we will be seeing quite a few of these titles. While I've only read two of them, several of the others are on my shelf and coming up soon.GY: As with many Giller winners, Reproduction seems to have quite mixed reviews. In Canada, the Giller winner tends to be a highly-gifted book during the Holiday season which means there are a lot of folks who receive the winner even if it doesn't match their interests.
"They read anything! They really love books! They always have a book with them! Give me something that won a prize and is popular because that is an indicator of quality!" - So lots of folks get copies of books that would be of no interest to them which I think is a big part of the mixed reviews. Additionally, we often see a large number of them being returned in late December / early January by customers with no interest in reading or whose interests lie elsewhere.
Skipping through the past several Giller winners they all have ratings in the 3- range which is pretty low generally speaking.
I do think Reproduction will meet better reviews from the members of this group - it's much more in line with our collective interests than it is with a wider audience.
I did wonder about that. Its not actually published in the UK until 24th September (which means its eligible) and I would rather wait for a hardback unless its long listed.If Robert's predictions are correct I would have read 11 of the 13 longlist - so need to leave myself something to read!
Dylan wrote: "Robert's predictions look great! I think we will be seeing quite a few of these titles. While I've only read two of them, several of the others are on my shelf and coming up soon.GY: As with many..."
Thanks! Strangely enough I'm not a huge fan of Giller winners - I've read 11 and genuinely liked two ; Reproduction and A Fine Balance.
Strangely enough, I'm not a huge fan of them either. I've read ten of the winners but only genuinely enjoyed four of them (Clara Callan, Half-Blood Blues, Bellevue Square, and Reproduction).The Giller tends to be quite focused on Canada (which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing ) and much of the content in the books is very Canadian, especially in recent years (if this makes any sense).
I often have better luck with titles on the long and shortlists. There was a time when I really wasn't a fan of the Giller at all (I found every winner disappointing for quite some time) but have been enjoying recent years much more.
Either I'm getting older and my tastes are changing or the prize is picking books better suited to my taste.
I used to follow the Giller but haven't more recently. I remember liking Through Black Spruce. The lists would tend to be good and we had lots of guidance from the shadow jury including (in some years) Trevor. Half Blood Blues I read because of the Booker and thought it was great.Today's UK Kindle daily deal features two Booker eligible: A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry and Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout.
Just finished Shuggie Bain. I could even see it as a winner. My first thoughts are that it fits into the “if you only read one book this year then read this one ...” category.
Does seem a strong contender. The publisher’s blurb has:“A heartbreaking story of addiction, sexuality, and love, Shuggie Bain is an epic portrayal of a working-class family that is rarely seen in fiction. Recalling the work of Édouard Louis, Alan Hollinghurst, Frank McCourt, and Hanya Yanagihara.”
Are those fair comparisons?
It does sounds very much in Louis territory. But I wouldn’t associate Hollinghurst with portrayals of working-class life, not or Yanagihara (I am not familiar with McCourt’s books at all).
From the little I know they (other than Louis) are poor comparisons. I guess I can see what they might mean by A Little Life in one sense, but this is very very different in every other. James Kelman will I am sure be mentioned also but this is a much more structured, conventional novel.
I am meanwhile wondering if the judges will pick M John Harrison’s new novel (they should) given how defiantly anti genre he is. On his blog some years ago he commented:I’m reading Bonjour Tristesse and A Certain Smile, which I bought–along with a Lee Child thriller–on the way to Valencia. Not a patch on Colette’s Ripening Seed, but good. I wonder why I never read Francoise Sagan in the 60s. I think we were already bored with that bourgeois existentialism of hers.
Meanwhile, Lee Child is as reliably Lee Child as ever; & Jack Reacher stands in exactly the same relationship to Westlake’s Parker as Sagan stands to Colette.
Paul wrote: "Are those fair comparisons?I completed and reviewed 'Shuggie Bain' in May, and never knowing of its publisher's blurb comparing it to Hanya Yanagihara's writing until seeing your comment above, I thought and mentioned in my review that the book had mild whispers of 'A Little Life'.
I will clarify though that the "mild whisper" to 'A Little Life' that I alluded to in my review was more to a specific theme and events in the titular character's life in 'Shuggie Bain' as compared to one of the four main characters from 'A Little Life', than it was a comparison between Douglas Stuart's writing to Hanya Yanagihara's writing.
Having also read 'Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine', I also felt a minor, very mild line could be drawn between the maternal relationships of Eleanor and Shuggie.
Overall though, my comparisons were minor between the works, and I felt 'Shuggie Bain' was a book all its own, with Douglas Stuart pleasantly surprising me with a debut novel that read as if it were written by a well seasoned, veteran author. If he continues to churn out storytelling of this caliber going forward, I think he's definitely one to watch. His literary potential is bright, in my view.
Although 'Shuggie Bain' was not a 5-star read for me, I was thoroughly impressed.
If the back cover is anything to go by, it does sound quite a lot like Frank McCourt's books, with dirt-poor misery exacerbated by an alcoholic family member.
The Shadow King - with a very enthusiastic back cover blurb by one of the judges, an author published in an anthology by the chair of the judges, and a book which draws in Homeric epics, so appealing to a third judge. Looks like a good longlist possibility.
It was also part of Powell’s indiespensable club - they have a knack of choosing book award winners and long/short listers
Looks a strong contender - remember it being picked by Simon Savidge for the Women's Prize (albeit his list was rather long). I'd meant to post it in reply to Nicholas's excellent post from some time ago and forgot. Nicholas wrote: "Though the Booker is not always great on this front, in speculating about the longlist with my book club I've been trying to think about geographic diversity. Most of the books I've seen discussed here are from the UK, US, or Canada. So I've been researching new books from other countries that show up regularly. I'm not sure if all of these are eligible and I haven’t read them since most have not yet been released in the US.
India – Djinn Patrol and the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara (frequently speculated), Low by Jeet Thayil, A Burning by Megha Majumdar
Nigeria – The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi… (there must be others, Nigeria is often well represented on the list)
Uganda – The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi
Australia / New Zealand – The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld (frequently speculated)
Trinidad & Tobago – The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey
What books and countries am I missing?"
Paul wrote: "Looks a strong contender - remember it being picked by Simon Savidge for the Women's Prize (albeit his list was rather long). I'd meant to post it in reply to Nicholas's excellent post from some ti..."The Rain Heron by Robbie Arnott maybe? Is that eligible?
Yes it seems to be - published in UK by Atlantic books
I haven't been reading many new books, though I acquired many mentioned here. Has anyone seen a possible theme in their reading relevant for this year's list?
While I've only read a handful of the eligible titles the theme that has jumped out to me among all that I've read is 'division' in its many guises. (Somewhat too broad, I think, but readily apparent if only because it might be true of any batch of books.)Do we know when the longlist is to be announced? I know it's on the 28th - but is it at midnight on the 28th (from the 27th to the 28th?; from the 28th to the 29th?) or is there a press release announcement? As usual, I can't readily find a specified time.
Dylan wrote: "While I've only read a handful of the eligible titles the theme that has jumped out to me among all that I've read is 'division' in its many guises. (Somewhat too broad, I think, but readily appare..."Doesn’t it depend on when the Guardian gets hold of the list? 🙃
Facebook event for the announcement is scheduled at 1030-11am British Summer Time on 28th.https://m.facebook.com/events/online/...
Interesting review of Utopia Avenue and David Mitchell's work by Daniel Mendelsohn on NYT The Book Review July 10 podcast. The review does not make me want to read Utopia Ave (a character from an unlikely earlier book makes an appearance which Mendelsohn said for him was a bridge too far,) but made me order Ghostwritten and decide to read his earlier work.
Dylan wrote: "While I've only read a handful of the eligible titles the theme that has jumped out to me among all that I've read is 'division' in its many guises. (Somewhat too broad, I think, but readily appare..."Thanks Dylan. If "division" were the theme this year, I would hope Ali Smith gets a nod, since it is a main theme in the quartet and I think she does a marvelous job in the earlier books. I am among those that see the quartet as a whole and from reviews I have read of Summer, I think it would be wise of the Booker to find some way of honoring her this year in praise of the quartet if it has not been submitted.
I just finished Utopia Avenue. Whilst it sort of made me want to re-read Thousand Autumns, I really didn’t enjoy it.
We've already more than enough possibilities but well known screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, has a new book, Antkind, which is on the meta side and might draw some interest. I have not read more than the first chapter, but Kaufman would be a good press angle.
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Paul wrote: "Facebook event for the announcement is scheduled at 1030-11am British Summer Time on 28th.Thanks, Paul! I think this should be on the official Booker website but who am I to say.
Wendy, Ghostwritten is my favourite Mitchell so far. I didn't like Number9Dream or Thousand Autumns but I suspect this one is quite different entirely. I am not going by reviews for this one (not that I usually do anyway to be fair!)
Reviews of Utopia Avenue really are very mixed, so everyone should ignore my negativity and read it! Like Ang, Ghostwritten is probably my favourite Mitchell although I also like Cloud Atlas, Thousand Autumns and number9dream. I’m a bit of a fan which partly explains my over-reaction to the latest.Personally, I would be disappointed to see Utopia Avenue on next week’s list. I would prefer to see Glass Hotel if we are going for authors who connect their books with recurring characters.
Have you read Bone Clocks, Neil? Mitchell is an author who I tend to buy all of their books but don't necessarily get around to reading quickly. Part of that is because they are tending to the long side and it takes something like a prize list to make me want to start them.Cloud Atlas was my first Mitchell and I loved it. I thought the violence in Number9Dream was gratuitous and wished I didn't have some of the images (one still stands out in my memory.)
Just to add: I didn't buy Slade House. I am not a fan of the Twitter style of interaction and so it being created as Twitter posts put me off.
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Ang, I have read all of his books, several of them more than once.
Ang wrote: "Just to add: I didn't buy Slade House. I am not a fan of the Twitter style of interaction and so it being created as Twitter posts put me off."I'm not a fan of twitter ( I use it for promo purposes) but Slade House does actually feel like a novella.
To follow Ang’s post, I DID buy Slade House and for some reason I gave it 5 stars. There is no way it should have that many, so I should sort that out soon. Jennifer Egan’s Black Box was also a book of tweets and I enjoyed both of them, Egan’s more than Michell’s, I think.Although, of course, all that has nothing to do with this year’s Booker!
I got excited about Slade House because it made the method in the madness clear. Utopia Avenue, on the other hand, seems to reveal the madness in the method.
Hugh wrote: "Will reserve judgment on Utopia Avenue until I have finished it. As with so much of Mitchell's work (including Cloud Atlas), it is something of a curate's egg, and I prefer the parts that are most ..."Hugh, I think one of the lessons of Utopia Avenue is that NOTHING in ANY of Mitchell's novels is grounded in reality! I think every book of his except Black Swan Green is referenced in Utopia Avenue (and that's probably more about me not spotting it than it not being there). It seems like a lot of reviews of his books draw a distinction between the "real world" books and the "horology world" books. Utopia Avenue makes it clear everything is in the same (horology) world.
At least, that's how I saw it. Keen to hear your views.
Feels like we need a Mitchell thread rather than dominating Booker speculation. I am another who has read all his previous novels - some of them several times, having initially been drawn in by his Murakami inspired early writing. I hope this is not Booker nominated as I would prefer to read later in the year having first revisited all his earlier novels.
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That diversion was mostly my fault, so apologies. It's a while since I posted here and I think I got a bit over-excited.
As another who had read most of his previous novels, I also hope this one is not Booker nominated, as the previous novels were increasingly poor and he was top of my list on this thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Neil wrote: "That diversion was mostly my fault, so apologies. It's a while since I posted here and I think I got a bit over-excited."It was not a problem at all!
I like the thought of Neil getting over-excited!Indeed that's why the Booker is so great - we all get a bit over-excited :-)
I like the excitement as well and enjoyed the diverion. The early dicussions of possibles are often the only dicussions we have of books that do not make the list.
"Following the midnight announcement of this year's Booker Prize longlist, we offer an in-depth look at the novel's which have made it onto the 2020 list".So, we'll be sitting up until midnight next Monday night.
Is that perhaps the Booker International, Joe? Someone said there was a Facebook unveiling for the Booker this year from 10:30 to 11:00 am.Edit: Never mind, I see where you got that. It does sound like Monday night midnight feast is in order. And this is 5pm Tuesday, not 10:30am.
So it is Monday midnight?
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The Mookse and the Gripes
Books mentioned in this topic
The Vanishing Half (other topics)The Accomplice (other topics)
Exciting Times (other topics)
Reproduction (other topics)
Days by Moonlight (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
André Alexis (other topics)Emily St. John Mandel (other topics)
Naoise Dolan (other topics)
Deepa Anappara (other topics)
Maaza Mengiste (other topics)
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The Mitchell is on it's way (well two weeks ago)