2021 Booker Prize Speculation Showing 151-200 of 1,196

[Jo]

In the middle of Ishiguro's latest. Definite echoes of 'Never Let Me Go. What are your thoughts on it? His daughter - Naomi - has a book out soon too...

[Paul]

Always hard to know which thread is best for new books (which prize, publisher pages for indy presses, author page), - there's ended up being more of a discussion of the new Ishiguro on the author page - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Ang]

Jo wrote: "His daughter - Naomi - has a book out soon too..."

Oh I didn't know that. I will look her up.

I haven't received my copy of Klara yet. I will respond when I get reading it.

[Sam]

I'm in the middle of my copy. I am enjoying the read, and not criticizing it as a work of literature. since the author's status should guarantee a longlist spot. I think the targeted audience is much more expansive than the usual litfic crowd and fear this may lead to similar complaints as befell Atwood's sequel, but I am happy with what Ive been presented.

[Ang]

Sounds good, Sam. There's nothing wrong with an expansive audience in my book.

I looked up Naomi Ishiguro and see that she used to work at Mr B's Emporium in Bath so I will likely have been in close proximity at some point. Before the pandemic I would have been on a tour of the Bath bookshops a few times a year. Looking forward to when I can do so again!

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Ang you may also be interested in How We Are Translated which is by a current bookseller in the same shop.

[Ang]

In case Jo is watching here but not the Ishiguro thread, I thought Klara and the Sun was excellent. I don't agree with those who are saying it is YA but that discussion rarely ends well so best left alone.

I think it gives a lot to think about and in contrast to Trevor's review, for me it was vivid and I think it will stick with me.

[Paul]

Glad you liked it - and I was definitely far too harsh on it. I'm such an Ishiguro fan (probably my favourite living English language writer) that my bar was set too high.

It's paid for (indeed I think one has to buy a £7.50 ticket to the whole festival) but a wonderful opportunity to see Kazuo and Naomi appearing together: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/wha...

[Ang]

That event looks really good, Paul. Thank you.

[Ang]

It looks like each event is £7.50 though, which is a bit steep.

[Paul]

Ah sorry, I thought “7 days video access” meant access to other events as well but it looks not. Guess they are trying to rebuild funds but even so that is a bit steep for an online video.

[Trevor]

That is good to hear, Ang! I am heartened to see more positivity for Klara. It is so interesting how some books work at times for one and not another, and vice versa!

[Trevor]

By the way, later today I will finish Claire Keegan’s forthcoming Small Things Like These, and I think it could be a contender. It’s very short, so it would make my list!

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

It might be Trevor but not until 2022 - it’s not eligible this year.

[Trevor]

I just saw that it doesn’t come out until October! Ah well, maybe the early prize lists next year. It takes place over Christmas so October time works.

[Areeb]

A new book from Jeet Thayil, a previous shortlister. Names of the Women, a reimagination of The New Testament. Wouldn't be surprised to see it on the list. Granted it came out this week but only two reviews on Goodreads so far and it is by a Penguin Random House imprint. Their marketing and publicity is so shoddy.

[WndyJW]

I’d like Names of the Women. Thanks for letting his know, Areeb.

[Joy D]

I think this book is eligible. I read an arc due for release August 2021. Ngamije's writing is clever and expressive. It is the type book I would expect to be nominated for prizes, even though it is a debut. I am new enough here not to assume I know what book is eligible for which prize, so I'm just posting it here in case anyone is interested:

The Eternal Audience of One by Rémy Ngamije - 5 stars - My Review

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

In the U.K. it looks like a September 30 release which makes it eligible. Sounds fascinating.

[WndyJW]

Nice review, Joy. This sounds like one to watch for.

[Joy D]

Gumble's Yard wrote: "In the U.K. it looks like a September 30 release which makes it eligible. Sounds fascinating."

Ok, thanks! Yes, I found it fascinating. The content was not exactly my cup of tea, but I'm bumping it to 5 stars on the strength of the writing.

[Paul]

Just finished the book that should win - but I suspect won't appear on the list (hopeful for the Goldsmiths though) - Sterling Karat Gold - my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

One that again is more Goldsmiths but ineligible for that (non-Uk author) and, as from a larger press, may have a chance is the equally brilliant Aphasia by Mauro Javier Cárdenas - my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... This one felt like someone had reversed engineered a book to fit my taste (the opposite of The Nix from a couple of years ago).

On Twitter I see the author of Aphasia has just started one of my favourite books of 2020, which is just out in the US but has yet to find a UK publisher I think - Panthers and the Museum of Fire.

[Areeb]

A new Hanya Yanagihara just announced, a whopping 640 pages. To Paradise releasing in January, 2022 so not eligible this year unfortunately.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Pause to wait for Paul to comment on the length of the book ...

[Paul]

Areeb wrote: "640 pages so not eligible this year.."

Says it perfectly. I am delighted to see the new rules implemented.

[Areeb]

Paul wrote: "Areeb wrote: "640 pages so not eligible this year.."

Says it perfectly. I am delighted to see the new rules implemented."

XDDDD

[Areeb]

Here's the synopsis. It sounds really fascinating to be honest.



From the author of the classic A LITTLE LIFE, a bold, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment, about lovers, family, loss and the elusive promise of utopia.

In an alternate version of 1893 America, New York is part of the Free States, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older, wealthier partner, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him—and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances.

These three sections are joined in an enthralling and ingenious symphony, as recurring notes and themes deepen and enrich one another: A townhouse in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village; illness, and treatments that come at a terrible cost; wealth and squalor; the weak and the strong; race; the definition of family, and of nationhood; the dangerous righteousness of the powerful, and of revolutionaries; the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise, and the gradual realization that it can’t exist. What unites not just the characters, but these Americas, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human: Fear. Love. Shame. Need. Loneliness.

TO PARADISE is a fin de siecle novel of marvelous literary effect, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love – partners, lovers, children, friends, family and even our fellow citizens – and the pain that ensues when we cannot.

[WndyJW]

This could be a very good book!

[Emmeline]

Areeb wrote: "Here's the synopsis. It sounds really fascinating to be honest."

Haha it's always fun to see what appeals to other people. I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole! It has everything I dislike or am cautious of or just find overdone … a swollen page count, historical fiction, New York, multiple timelines, dystopian future imaginings, sweeping reach, nationhood. Yikes.

[Cindy]

Nice to see that Yanigahara remains controversial even months before her new book is released. I note that this is shorter than A Little Life (although not by much). I for one absolutely cannot wait for this!!!!

[Robert]

Emily wrote: "Areeb wrote: "Here's the synopsis. It sounds really fascinating to be honest."

Haha it's always fun to see what appeals to other people. I wouldn't touch this with a barge pole! It has everything ..."

Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!

[Nadine in California]

Robert wrote: "Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!"

Me too ;) The only thing I don't like is Yanagihara. This is based on: reading one arbitrary page of People in the Trees that had an excruciatingly awful moment of animal cruelty, the details of which I've thankfully forgotten, and the undying impression that Little Life is such a suffer-fest that no amount of good writing could make palatable. In fact I'm starting to think that the synopsis of To Paradise has the potential to be another suffer-fest.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

I am in the middle a bit here - I did not hate Little Life but thought it was massively flawed.

[WndyJW]

Maybe I don’t want to read this.

[Areeb]

Nadine wrote: "Robert wrote: "Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!"

Me too ;) The only thing I don't like is Yanagihara. This is based on: reading one arbitrary page of People in the Trees that..."

Honestly, The People in the Trees was also somewhat of a disguised suffer-fest, haha. Apart from the animal cruelty, the epilogue had me feeling so queasy (which was the point, I suppose). I am yet to read A Little Life and I am apprehensive because I don't know whether I can really handle yet another queer trauma narrative.

[Robert]

Areeb wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Robert wrote: "Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!"

Me too ;) The only thing I don't like is Yanagihara. This is based on: reading one arbitrary page of People in..."

A Little Life encapsualtes all the evil that humankind is capable of doing. I think it's a great read but it is emotionally draining.

[Cindy]

Robert wrote: "Areeb wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Robert wrote: "Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!"

Me too ;) The only thing I don't like is Yanagihara. This is based on: reading one arbitrary pag..."

Yes, emotionally draining is quite a good way to put it Robert. I think A Little Life was quite simply an extraordinary reading experience. I recommended it to many, but with a red flashing warning sign. I simply adored it, even if parts of it were agonizing. And I will most definitely be reading her new novel.

[Tom]

Richard Powers' new novel, Bewilderment, is slated for September 2021 (I think), which means it might be eligible this year. Either way, I cannot wait for this one.

From the publisher's description: With its soaring descriptions of the natural world, its tantalizing vision of life beyond, and its account of a father and son’s ferocious love, Bewilderment marks Richard Powers’s most intimate and moving novel.

Having lost my dad last September and expecting a son (my first child) this October, the timing and description make it feel like this one is meant for me.

[Jo]

I am also incredibly excited for 'Bewilderment'. Have preordered my signed copy already! Absolutely loved 'The Overstory'.

Exciting news: 'Bewilderment' will be made into a film too. Can't wait!

Currently reading 'Lean, Fall, Stand' - I strongly advise anyone who hasn't read this yet to give it a read. Short but Oh! So Powerful. I would be surprised if it doesn't make it on to the Longlist.

[Cindy]

I love Jon McGregor. Lean Fall Stand is not out in the US until September, alas.

[Jo]

I think I read somewhere there is a limit on pages in determining eligibility? Just read through the rules and didn't see anything. Have I missed something here? Does that mean 'Cloud Cuckooland' is out of the running?

[Robert]

Cindy wrote: "Robert wrote: "Areeb wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Robert wrote: "Haha everything you dislike in a book - I REALLY like!"

Me too ;) The only thing I don't like is Yanagihara. This is based on: reading on..."

Agreed on all points - I do the same when I recommend A Little Life

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Jo wrote: "I think I read somewhere there is a limit on pages in determining eligibility? Just read through the rules and didn't see anything. Have I missed something here? Does that mean 'Cloud Cuckooland' i..."

I think you are thinking of Paul's rants on wanting to ban books of over 200 pages. There are no official rules.

Its published 28th September which makes it officially eligible but can make it difficult if they don't have a final version to give the judges by 11 June (which is the absolute deadline)

Here are the full rules

https://thebookerprizes.com/sites/man...

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Jo wrote: "Currently reading 'Lean, Fall, Stand' - I strongly advise anyone who hasn't read this yet to give it a read. Short but Oh! So Powerful. I would be surprised if it doesn't make it on to the Longlist...."

Well I loved it too - but I know Paul and Neil and Roman Clodia all read the same time as me (late last year) and were not so impressed. And the Guardian has just given it a fairly poor review (although one which makes it clear the writer is not a McGregor fan and which has also lead to some good humoured tweets by McGregor who has also read some of the below the line comments)

My review anyway ..

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Jo]

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Jo wrote: "I think I read somewhere there is a limit on pages in determining eligibility? Just read through the rules and didn't see anything. Have I missed something here? Does that mean 'Cloud Cu..."

Oh good. Those are the set of rules I have read (studied) All very interesting considering the number of entries per publisher.

[Neil]

I may not have liked Lean, Fall, Stand as much as you, but I thought it was very good.

I am currently reading The Promise by Damon Galgut. I think we should be considering this.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Jo wrote: "All very interesting considering the number of entries per publisher..."

According to my calculations Penguin Random House can enter at least 23 books (plus any from imprints that have not had longlisted titles) and Hachette at least 20.

[Cindy]

I thought the Booker had a size limit the other way -- that the novel had to be "long form," meaning a certain number of words? No? Am I confusing it with something else?

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Cindy wrote: "I thought the Booker had a size limit the other way -- that the novel had to be "long form," meaning a certain number of words? No? Am I confusing it with something else?"

No you are correct - although "long form" is specified in the rules but not defined (as we have found with the International Booker).

[Jo]

Cindy wrote: "I thought the Booker had a size limit the other way -- that the novel had to be "long form," meaning a certain number of words? No? Am I confusing it with something else?"

Yes - that's what he rules say 'long form' but I haven't yet spotted a definitive limit here.

The Promise looks intriguing... I am South African and for many years lived in Pretoria where the story is set. We are so removed from a very different sort of life and social hierarchy, here in the UK. This looks very interesting indeed.