How many have you read?
I’d like to consider myself a well-read gal who keeps up with goings on in the literary world… until this week when a chap called Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Who’s that now? I thought Philip Roth was a shoo-in? Turns out I’m not alone in not having a clue as to who he is, but it made me feel like a bit of a thicko. Next week the Man Booker Prize is announced and apart from our own Sebastian Barry, I’ve never heard of any of the other writers. What’s going on? Have I lost my book mojo? Has my finger slipped off the literary pulse? The only two I’ve read are Barry’s The Secret Scripture, which I liked a lot despite the dodgy, contrived ending and Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, because it was a) not too big b) sounded interesting and c) lots of book journos are saying it’ll win. I’m also thinking of having a flutter, but am wondering if I should back a book I haven’t read? (Sea of Poppies seems to have good odds on various Bookies’ sites).
Anyone else read any of the books? What do you think will/should/shouldn’t win? Could another Irish writer (after Anne Enright and John Banville) make it three out of the last four years? We’ll be the Brazil of the Booker if Barry wins it for us…
I’ve read the Barry book, I loved it apart from the ending which you said was contrived.
I sooo want it to win!
I’ve shamefully not read anything on the list, but from what I hear of The Sea of Poppies it sounds like the sort of thing I’d love and so I’m rooting for it.
The fact that a French-man won the Nobel Prize for Literature will certainly annoy the anglophiles. After all, everyone now accepts that English is the international language.
I apologise for the satire, but speak as a native English speaker. Then, if English is unacceptable, on grounds of linguistic imperialism, what about Esperanto?
Yes Esperanto was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature, in the name of Icelandic poet Baldur Ragnarrson.
This is true. Esperanto does have its own original literature. Please check http://www.esperanto.net to confirm.
I’ve just finished wading through them all and I found it quite a slog. This year feels like a bit of a weak year for the Booker. Barry’s book is beautifully written and I think the best of the six, in spite of the ending, which disappointed me.
Henscher’s book is too long and rambling; Toltz’s is clever and the writing witty, but it lost me quite a few times (he has a great future book in him); Sea of Poppies has far too much distracting slang and colloqualisms and Linda Grant’s book is badly written and cliched (the worst on the list IMO); the White Tiger was enjoyable, but sat uneasily with me, but this will probably win if Barry doesn’t.
Speaking of book prizes – what’s all this about?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/oct/12/awardsandprizes
Speaking of Irish and the Booker, I still can’t figure out why Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland isn’t in the Booker list. It’s brilliantly written and definitely lves up to its hype
As for Roth (or Updike, Ford, Oates for that matter) not winning the prize, the Nobel Committee is known to have an anti-American bias. It explains (for me at least) why he hasn’t one it despite writing THE best body of work in recent literature (starting with Sabbath’s Theatre all of 13 years ago).
Hey Ruby,
I think it’s great that you haven’t heard of most of the writers. I’d wager most of us haven’t. It means new writers are being given a chance and not the same old, same old writers, as if they are entitled to be on lists just because of who they are/a previous good book.
I’m disappointed too re Netherland. Haven’t read any of the ‘listees. I’m too poor to buy them, being a writer and all…
Hurray, I am so relieved to note that I am not the only one considering herself well-read who finds herself before a list of relative unkowns. And I’d never heard of yon French lad either, but I do think we’re a little spoiled as English speakers and rarely get round to works in translation. It’s also unlikely I’ll get near him this side of Christmas, considering my list of To Reads which include Joseph O’Neill and David Foster Wallace. Sigh. Best get back to it.
I haven’t read Le Clezio either but do know that he is an institution in french-speaking countries where he’s been on their secondary school literature syllabus for an eternity. From what I gather the nobel prize is a little anti-american because the writers from the states tend to be quite insular and not engage in any kind of literary exchange with the rest of the world…whereas le clezio does…i guess.
Thanks to Sinéad for doing all that Booker reading so I only have to read her recommendations.
Bit late coming into this one, and perhaps pointless now that the prize has long since been awarded, but as I’m one of the unfortunates who read all the longlisted books I’ll add my thoughts. All in all I agree with Sinéad that 2008 was a weak year for the Booker (though it could have been a strong year if they hadn’t omitted books like Damon Galgut’s The Impostor and Andrew Crumey’s Sputnik Caledonia). I agree with Sinéad too on Hensher and Toltz.
I disagree – controversy, at last! – on Linda Grant, who was my favourite of the shortlist, closely followed by Barry. I also liked Amitav Ghosh’s Sea of Poppies, though it was too clearly the first part of a trilogy. The White Tiger to me is one of the great mysteries of modern Bookerville – how did it even get longlisted, let alone win? It’s easy to read though, and will no doubt be popular. The five-strong Booker judging panel were split 3-2 in favour of Adiga over Barry.
Barry anyway seems to have had his revenge by taking the Costa Book of the Year award, which has helped the paperback get into the top ten bestsellers, even though the judging panel agreed with everyone about the ending. In fact, the chair of the Costa judges, Matthew Parris, gave remarkably qualified praise for the book, which would much more naturally have ended with “so we gave the prize to Book X instead” than with announcing Barry as the winner. He said:
With friends like that, eh? Apparently the close second place for the Costa Book of the Year was Adam Foulds’ The Broken Word, a book of poetry about the Mau Mau uprisings in Kenya.
Anyway, this year’s Booker is bound to be better, with no Portillo and no Hardeep Singh Kohli on the panel. Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn is a real contender, though I don’t think it’s a patch on The Master. Also Margaret Atwood, though I’ve never (or rarely) been able to get along with her stuff, must be in contention for The Year of the Flood. And I’d love to see Patrick McCabe longlisted. The Holy City is really him going through his hoops, but he does it so well.