Play Book Tag discussion

The Booker Longlist is soon to be announced and if you could what recently read book would you nominate to the longlist? Tell us about the book and why you think it deserves recognition.

Make it a book you read from Oct 1, 2021 to present day.

I don't generally read books just published. But what is the window of time it needs to have been published - in case something snuck into my reading.

Theresa wrote: "I don't generally read books just published. But what is the window of time it needs to have been published - in case something snuck into my reading."

Well, I was thinking to leave the window open as far as publication dates so it could really be a fairy godmother "wish", but to narrow the parameters to the booker, a book you read from Oct 1, 2021 to now.(It would really be Sep30, 2022 technically but that won't work for us.)

I am not one to try to read the minds of any panel of judges, but I have read a few that are very well-written in a literary style and provide commentary the world and our place in it. They are the types of books I can see making the Booker Longlist.

The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
Lessons by Ian McEwan
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Learwife by J.R. Thorp

A few others I have read that I think may be "too American" (e.g., set in US and about US-centric topics) for the Booker, but are eligible:
Trust by Hernan Diaz (partially set in other countries but mostly about the 1929 Wall Street stock market crash)
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Horse by Geraldine Brooks
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout
Zorrie by Laird Hunt

And one I did not personally like much, but it is the type of book that I can easily see being nominated:
Burntcoat by Sarah Hall

I recently got a copy of this book that I have not read yet, but a good number of my online friends have raved about it. I hope to get to it soon:
The Colony by Audrey Magee

Okay. I think I have a better grasp.

I will confess that I frequently dislike ... and often hate ... the Booker winners and even most nominees over the last 15 years. I often find the writing itself weak or boring. The exceptions in recent years:

A Brief History of Seven Killings - one of the bravest, most brilliant, astounding, beautiful, painful, ugly works of fiction it has been my honor to read. I understand it was a unanimous vote by committee reached in minutes.
The Sellout - a satiric masterpiece and again incredibly brave, also dark, funny, and uncomfortable.

Based on my reading these last few months I want nominated:

Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout - relationships and knowing others and oneself, told in a deceptively simple almost conversational way. To my mind Strout is creating a new style of writing here and a new genre - the fictional character memoir.
Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby - an intimate examination of racism and prejudice in the guise of a buddy story and murder mystery thriller. Another incredibly brilliant,fresh, and brave book.

The requirements for the Booker Prize are:
"Any NOVEL originally written in English (no translations), regardless of the nationality of its author, with a print edition scheduled for publication in the UK between 1st October 2021 and 30th September 2022."

I am not aware of when Razorblade Tears was published in the UK but the US publication date would make it ineligible (not that it can't go on a wish list!)

There is a separate prize for translated fiction.

I follow this prize annually and try to read most, if not all, of the longlist.

My comments are based on my personal views of preferring non-US authors (since the US has so many more prize than other countries). They are certainly eligible and have won in the past.

It is supposed to be a prize for "the finest fiction" (in the minds of the panel of judges, which changes each year). One can of course always argue with their preferences, which is part of the fun for me. I find that I usually enjoy a good number of nominees and the writing overall is strong (though a few weak ones always seem to slip through).

My idea was not to replicate The Booker, but to open it up to what PBT members were reading within that time frame and what they consider to have merit, so we could generate conversation.

Booknblues wrote: "My idea was not to replicate The Booker, but to open it up to what PBT members were reading within that time frame and what they consider to have merit, so we could generate conversation."

Another words, books we have READ in English during that time period, regardless of whether in translation or only published then or where published. If that is the case, I have 2 more:

Madame Bovary - the Lydia Davis Translation of Flaubert's masterpiece. It felt as if I were reading it in the original French (which I have actually done). The wit, realism, and ruthlessness that is Flaubert's style just sings off the page.

On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Familyand Snow Flower and the Secret Fan both by Lisa See because of her great skill in presenting tough historic cultural differences like foot binding without modern judgment or mores. Plus in her family history, painting the picture of restrictive immigration and assimmilation policies on a local and federal level in a straightforward manner, and how her family coped.

Theresa wrote: "Another words, books we have READ in English during that time period, regardless of whether in translation or only published then or where published. If that is the case, I have 2 more:"...

Thank you, I needed a lawyer to spell it out.

Booknblues wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Another words, books we have READ in English during that time period, regardless of whether in translation or only published then or where published. If that is the case, I have 2 m..."

😁🤓🤔😉

My Nominations:

After Story - Family story, even with those closes to us we have difficulty understanding. Celebrates literature and diversity.

The Bread the Devil Knead - Understanding what is so hard to understand, abuse. Told in unique voice.

Creatures of Passage - Spooky cab travels through Washington DC and picks up passengers.

An American Marriage - Celebrates the diversity of marriage in America

The Thirty Names of Night -understanding the diverse sexuality in both modern and historical context, beautiful writing.

Moon and the Mars Historical fiction, antebellum NYC

Cloud Cuckoo Land - Unique story that ties together in an imaginative way

The Pull of the Stars - Historical fiction set in Ireland during the Spanish Flu epidemic.

Sorry if I sent our thread astray. I follow the Booker prize annually and I guess I totally thought you wanted books we had read that would qualify.

My favorite book of the 2022 so far (review pending) is one I mentioned above:
The Immortal King Rao - a book of speculative fiction where tech companies run the world, and social standing has essentially become the new caste system - I loved it and highly recommend it!

Joy D wrote: "Sorry if I sent our thread astray. I follow the Booker prize annually and I guess I totally thought you wanted books we had read that would qualify.

My favorite book of the 2022 so far (review pen..."

No worries, I didn't explain it well enough. I wanted to go beyond recently published literary fiction, because I thought more people would respond. If my explanation was improved, I'm sure we would have had more responses.

I am going to contribute a book I recently read that was published in 2022. It is translated into English from Spanish and is written by a Chilean author, Alejandro Zambra. It is called Chilean Poet. I enjoyed the author's writing style, which was both experimental and unusual. And, he wrote about being a father from a father's prospective - again, most unusual. Here is my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

As Joy mentioned above, I also think that Erdrich's The Sentence is worthy of being included on the Booker's long list. Here is my review. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Holly R W wrote: "I am going to contribute a book I recently read that was published in 2022. It is translated into English from Spanish and is written by a Chilean author, Alejandro Zambra. It is called [book:Chile..."

I've been seeing that Chilean Poet book pop up here and there and think I would like it. The Sentence is on my TBR, so I will get to it sooner or later. If it actually makes the Booker, I'll push it forward or I might add it to the Fall Flurries.

Booknblues wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "I am going to contribute a book I recently read that was published in 2022. It is translated into English from Spanish and is written by a Chilean author, Alejandro Zambra. It is ..."

I'll be interested in what you think of each book.