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Booker Prize 2019 Longlist - what do you think?

32 replies

MyReadingChallenge · 29/07/2019 19:03

Who will be working their way through the longlist? And any guesses for winner?

The winner to be announced on 14 October, so a good bit of time for reading.

Margaret Atwood - The Testaments
Kevin Barry - Night Boat To Tangier
Oyinkan Braithwaite - My Sister, The Serial Killer
Lucy Ellmann - Ducks, Newburyport
Bernardine Evaristo - Girl, Woman, Other
John Lanchester - The Wall
Deborah Levy - The Man Who Saw Everything
Valeria Luiselli - Lost Children Archive
Chigozie Obioma - An Orchestra Of Minorities
Max Porter - Lanny
Salman Rushdie - Quichotte
Elif Shafak - 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World
Jeanette Winterson - Frankissstein

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Nuffaluff · 02/08/2019 12:22

I’ve ordered a few from the library. Atwood, Rushdie and the Levy, which I’ll get soon after they’re released. Also, ‘Lanny’ by Max Porter because I enjoyed his other one and ‘My Sister the Serial Killer’. I’ve also ordered in the Elif Shafak because I think It sounds intriguing and the Winterson because I love her.
My finger is itching to order more from my library website at the moment, but I’m resisting. I’ll probably mop up the rest of the shortlist I haven’t read when it’s released.
The challenge is to read them all before the winner is announced. I did it last year just in time.

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 30/07/2019 14:49

I thought My Sister the Serial Killer was really poor. Astonished it's on the list and it puts me off reading any of the others.

elkiedee · 30/07/2019 14:42

Several are very new but the dates are September to September I think so there are usually some books in this category each year. I've read the John Lanchester book and bought two others - My Sister, The Serial Killer and Lost Children Archive. Margaret Atwood and Elif Shafak are authors whose new books I would look for at some point, though I'll probably reserve from the library in a few weeks, after my holiday, a short term closure and catchup on a few current loans including some newish books! I loved Bernardine Evaristo's Mr Loverman very much and have liked some of Lucy Ellmann and Jeannette Winterson's previous work - didn't know about the new Winterson. There are several authors here whose earlier books I have TBR in some form but am yet to read any of them and I'm sure I'll look through and work out what appeals at some point.

tripfiction · 29/07/2019 20:13

Some interesting reads there... but feel put off by 1000 page novels... and written in one sentence (Ducks, Newburyport, emperor's new clothes) Night Boat is a good read. And as @palegreenstars pointed out, some are not even published yet so how can mere mortals make a judgement....

PrawnoftheShed · 29/07/2019 19:12

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Palegreenstars · 29/07/2019 19:10

How can the Testaments be there when it’s not even out yet?

I guess the judges read it early but it’s odd that some will be based on the authors own experience and any press they read and others just their opinion...

Read none but have Lanny on my tbr and loved his last book so have high expectations.

MyReadingChallenge · 29/07/2019 19:06

I’ve already read My Sister, the Serial Killer, which I really enjoyed but don’t think it’s a Booker winner.

Picking up Night Boat to Tangier tomorrow from the library so looking forward to seeing what that’s like, as it sounds like my sort of thing...

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