2023 Booker Prize speculation Showing 1-50 of 1,356

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I know we have only just started discussing this year's longlist, but Doug has already created a Listopia list of candidates for next year's prize, so we ought to have a thread here. I won't pin it to the top of the folder until this year's winner has been announced.

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

[BookerMT2]

Can't resist the bait.

Recently given a proof of Nothing Special by Nicole Flattery. I didn't really enjoy her short story collection but there's a lot about this that I found quietly impressive. Some lovely writing and very well drawn characters with a touch of Andy Warhol for good measure.

Sally Rooney is a big fan of hers apparently.

[Paul]

Give the prize now to Losing the Plot.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

I would definitely love to see it on the longlist and ideally go much further.

I would think McCarthy must be a big favourite for at least the longlist but how will the judges deal with two books? Will it be the first ever time one author has two books on the longlist.

Sebastian Barry has a new book out also - I think it will appeal greatly to fans of Days Without End although set back in Ireland it has a similar (and did me rather uneasy) mix of violence and beautiful narration.

[Cindy]

I would think the new Eleanor Catton novel Birnam Wood needs to be under consideration.

[Jo]

Hi All, I have two tickets to Booker winner talk tonight if anyone can get to SouthBank Centre in London for 7:15pm 7:30pm start. Tickets are free and in the second row. Just don't want them to go to waste. I am going with my partner but two friends can no longer make it. Jo

[Kathleen]

Cindy wrote: "I would think the new Eleanor Catton novel Birnam Wood needs to be under consideration."

I have not read her The Luminaries

Is it better in audio?

[Tracy]

Derek, I’ve pre-ordered it here in the states- it’s coming out in early November- and I’m excited to read it!

[Cindy]

Kathleen wrote: "Cindy wrote: "I would think the new Eleanor Catton novel Birnam Wood needs to be under consideration."

I have not read her The Luminaries

Is it better in audio?"

It's a richly-rewarding (I think) novel, but one that requires a fairly significant amount of concentration. It's also quite long. I would think the audio version could be quite powerful, depending on the reader, but you'd really need to focus.

[Cindy]

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "I would definitely love to see it on the longlist and ideally go much further.

I would think McCarthy must be a big favourite for at least the longlist but how will the judges deal with two books..."

On the point about McCarthy having two books, I think that Stella Maris is something of a "coda" rather than a complete novel. I could be wrong about this, of course. But from the descriptions, it sounds like The Passenger is longer and fully fleshed-out and Stella Maris is quite short and gives us a glimpse inside the head of one of the main characters (the sister of the protagonist in The Passenger). So I would think they might just focus on The Passenger if they wanted to longlist one.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

I think you are right now I have read some more about it.

[Carl]

The Passenger isn’t meant to be very good. Apparently the first chapter is good and then it’s a stinker. I’ll still read it though. Has anyone in this group read it?

[David]

Isn't meant to be very good by McCarthy? He's so self-serious and guarded of his reputation.

[Carl]

Sorry David, I don’t understand your sentence.

[David]

Carl wrote: "Sorry David, I don’t understand your sentence."

I didn't understand yours either. It seems very unlike McCarthy to write a novel that isn't meant to be very good.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

He means other people don’t think it’s good

[David]

Forgive me for being dense, Carl. I started my day without coffee. I get what you’re saying now.

[Gwendolyn]

Ron Charles at The Washington Post didn’t like the Passenger much, and I usually agree with his reviews. Not sure I’ll read it. So much else to read.

[Cindy]

The Passenger is on the cover of this coming Sunday's New York Times Book Review. Here is an excerpt: “far from McCarthy’s finest work, but that’s because he has had the nerve to push himself into new places, at the age of all-but-90. He has tried something in these novels that he’d never done before: I don’t mean writing a woman (although there’s that), but writing normal people.”

[Paul]

I have seen references before that McCarthy doesn’t have female protagonists in his novels until now. Is that really the case? (Not an author I really know)

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

By protagonist I think people mean the main character in a novel? If so then the factual answer is no (he has written a novel where the main character is female) but he is I think much much better known for writing male characters. But is that particularly unusual?

[WndyJW]

I did not know that Stella Maris mean North Star. Stella Maris is the small drug detox hospital in Cleveland. I assumed it was a Catholic Saint or nun.

[Roman Clodia]

Stella Maris is Latin for 'star of the sea', and was used as a translation for Mary's Hebrew name, Maryam. But it also is used for the North Star as both the star and Mary are seen as fixed in the firmament, an unwavering guiding light. So your understanding is right as well, Wendy.

[Kristian]

Former (then) Orange Prize nominee Lorrie Moore has a new novel out in June:
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home

[Kristian]

And I am likewise muchly intrigued by Sophie Mackintosh's Cursed Bread .

[WndyJW]

The Moore novel sounds good.

[Cindy]

WndyJW wrote: "The Moore novel sounds good."

She's such a good writer. Very excited to learn that she has a new novel coming out.

[WndyJW]

I’ve never read Lorrie Moore.

[Cindy]

WndyJW wrote: "I’ve never read Lorrie Moore."

Ah, Wendy! You're missing out. Her Birds of America is a superb collection of stories.

[WndyJW]

What about novels? Is there a Lorrie Moore novel you think is best?

[Cindy]

She has only written a few novels: Anagrams, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital and A Gate at the Stairs. She is known more for her short stories (she also has an excellent collection of essays and criticism called See What Can Be Done). I am not generally a fan of short stories but hers are REALLY good.

[Robert]

A gate at the stairs is brilliant- faultless

[Cindy]

Robert wrote: "A gate at the stairs is brilliant- faultless"

Wendy, you see? Lorrie Moore is splendid!

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

3 star read for me - my 2013 review implies I thought she was clearly a talented writer but not fully able to coalesce her short story skills into a novel. But maybe after 9 more years she can.

[WndyJW]

Ok, so Birds of America: Stories is a good place to start. I’ll look for that.

[Elizabeth]

Kristian wrote: "Former (then) Orange Prize nominee Lorrie Moore has a new novel out in June:
I Am Homeless If This Is Not My Home"

Oh my gosh, it’s been forever!! I’m so excited about this. For awhile I kept checking her page to look for the next, but after 4 or 5 years I gave up. She’s truly one of my favorites, her short stories are exquisite.

[switterbug (Betsey)]

I tried reading Our Missing Hearts by Ng, but it was derivative and bordered on YA. I can’t picture it in the Booker longlist. Not even on the Pulitzer list (even though there’s never a list for Pulitzer). The Pulitzer, imho, often has “lighter” reads than Booker, or more standard reads than the Booker. The Booker nominees tend to contain more serious and adventurous (narratively adventurous) books. Ng’s latest can’t possibly…

[Carl]

Another fan of Lorrie Moore here.

David, don’t worry. I have plenty of those dense moments, even with coffee.

(I do wish Goodreads would update the app - how crazy is it that we still can’t quote when using our phones? That’s such a basic thing. Or am o I missing the quote button somewhere?)

[Carl]

Or edit! Ignore the wandering o.

[Cindy]

switterbug (Betsey) wrote: "I tried reading Our Missing Hearts by Ng, but it was derivative and bordered on YA. I can’t picture it in the Booker longlist. Not even on the Pulitzer list (even though there’s never a list for Pu..."

I was also very let down by Our Missing Hearts. I've always thought Ng's books were dramatic but this one was overwrought and just did not feel well done at all. It's clear she's very angry and has a specific agenda, but I was surprised at how heavy-handed this one felt.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Happy publication day to Derek for Losing The Plot

[Cindy]

What GY said.

[Mohamed]

I finished reading Hungry Ghosts by Kevin Jared Hosein and I found an outstanding and compelling novel. Although it is a debut, but it is well crafted with a shimmering language. It tackles many subjects such as Poverty, Motherhood, Class, Friendship. I wouldn't be surprised to see it on the booker longlist next year.

[WndyJW]

Hungry Ghosts does sound good. Are the poor workers Buddhists, Mohamed? Hungry Ghosts is a Hell realm in Buddhism, greedy people are reborn in the realm of hungry ghosts with large bellies, large mouths, but very thin necks that make it impossible to consume enough to be satisfied.

[Mohamed]

They are Hindus and live in Barracks.
Thank you so much for the information, I never knew that.
Indeed they are hungry for a better life and to run away from the hell of barraks

[WndyJW]

Gabor Maté wrote In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction about addiction which is an apt title when one considers that addicts are constantly craving more.

[Jo]

@Derek, where can I get a few signed copies of 'Losing the Plot'?

[Cindy]

Derek any information on availability in the US?

[Cindy]

Fingers crossed!

[WndyJW]

I’m glad you reminded me of Losing the Plot, Jo! I’ll order a copy from Blackwells, but I will ask another favor of you, Derek.