A little more than a month before the Booker Prize 2022 longlist is announced, I finished the 2021 longlist. As several of the selections weren’t published in the States until this year, it took some time, but I did it. I ended with Karen Jennings’s An Island (Holland House Books 2020, Hogarth in the USContinue reading “AN ISLAND – Karen Jennings”
Tag Archives: 2021 Booker Prize longlist
A TOWN CALLED SOLACE – Mary Lawson
I set a goal last year to read all the 2021 longlisted Booker Prize books. The delay in US publishing meant my goal spilled over into 2022, but I’m still chipping away. After Mary Lawson’s A Town Called Solace (Knopf Canada 2021), only one remains from the list, and I’m curious to see if IContinue reading “A TOWN CALLED SOLACE – Mary Lawson”
THE FORTUNE MEN – Nadifa Mohamed
Despite my best intentions, reading the Booker longlist during the calendar year just wasn’t realistic due to US release times. I did, however, finally get my hands on Nadifa Mohamed’s The Fortune Men (Alfred A. Knopf, 2021), which is the last of the shortlist for me. (There are two longlisted books that are still outstanding.) Continue reading “THE FORTUNE MEN – Nadifa Mohamed”
CHINA ROOM – Sunjeev Sahota
Sunjeev Sahota’s China Room (Viking, 2021) was another slim selection from the Booker 2021 longlist, but unlike A Passage North, which is a little bit longer, I gobbled it up in one sitting; it’s the kind of storytelling I prefer, and Sahota weaves an intimate and heartbreaking tale of love, independence, hate, and the chainsContinue reading “CHINA ROOM – Sunjeev Sahota”
A PASSAGE NORTH – Anuk Arudpragasam
In continuing with my attempt to read the Booker Prize 2021 longlist, I finally finished Anuk Arudpragasam’s A Passage North (Random House, 2021). While I didn’t hate it, it is certainly at the bottom of my rankings. (It still comes in head and shoulders ahead of Second Place, though.) My issue with the novel isContinue reading “A PASSAGE NORTH – Anuk Arudpragasam”
BEWILDERMENT – Richard Powers
Even though the 2021 Booker Prize has already been announced (Congrats to Damon Galgut!), I’m still making my way through the longlist. Richard Powers’s Bewilderment (W. W. Norton & Co., 2021) received a lot of attention, and I’m not surprised it was shortlisted for the prestigious award. The slim novel of grief and nature madeContinue reading “BEWILDERMENT – Richard Powers”
GREAT CIRCLE – Maggie Shipstead
“I was born to be a wanderer.” Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle (Alfred A. Knopf 2021) is likely my pick for the 2021 Booker Prize. (And it has nothing to do with the fact a coonhound makes an appearance.) I love the uniqueness of Lockwood’s No One is Talking About This and it’s still my darkContinue reading “GREAT CIRCLE – Maggie Shipstead”
THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris
Nathan Harris’s debut The Sweetness of Water (Little, Brown and Company 2021) was a highly anticipated novel that was immediately met with applause. An instant bestseller, it is an Oprah’s Book Club Pick and it made President Obama’s summer reading list. Additionally, it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Everyone loves this book. EveryoneContinue reading “THE SWEETNESS OF WATER – Nathan Harris”
KLARA AND THE SUN – Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro may be the odds-on favorite for the 2021 Booker Prize, and understandably so. Not only is he a previous winner (Remains of the Day 1989), he is arguably one of the most heralded contemporary English authors. I don’t think anyone was surprised to see Klara and the Sun (Knopf 2021) make an appearanceContinue reading “KLARA AND THE SUN – Kazuo Ishiguro”
THE PROMISE – Damon Galgut
Hailed as “in every way equal to J.M. Coetzee” by Rian Malan, Damon Galgut is an author I was thrilled to see on the Booker longlist. Shortlisted twice, Galgut’s work is a proven favorite among the Booker judges, and The Promise (Europa Editions 2021) very well could win it for him. In the spirit ofContinue reading “THE PROMISE – Damon Galgut”
A Girl Named Tommi 