I am also surprised at some of the more famous names not appearing on the longlist, but equally I've not been that wowed by some of their recent offerings.
I tend to read quite dark miserable books in general, but I wonder if the dark themes are just a sign of the times? It could also be that publishers are assuming only more serious/weighty/issue led books will be selected.
I got on with the first of the list last night.
Hangman - Maya Binyam
A political prisoner who claimed asylum in the US returns to his home country in sub-Saharan Africa after 26 years away. The country and people are unrecognisable to him. He is there to seek out his brother who is ill, but encounters many obstacles on the way. He meets several people who insist on telling him their stories of which he has no interest, but become significant as the book goes on. It's an absurdist comedy which reads like a dream state, it explores race, identity, culture and geopolitics
I liked this but found it hard work at times, it suffers from a slump in the middle before reaching a twist at the end that is fairly obvious. The whole book hinges on the twist, but it feels a little bit like it was written with a literary elements check list in mind and I felt battered about the head by the symbolism. It's a debut so it will be interesting to see how her writing develops in future works.
Some pre-list titles
Piglet - Lottie Hazell
Stuck with her childhood nickname, Piglet is a working class girl come good. She's a cookbook editor at a London publishing house on the cusp of a promotion. She has a lovely life, friends and home. Her wedding to her rich upper class fiancé is weeks away, but he drops a bombshell on her with 2 weeks to go and her life spirals out of control while she decides whether to go ahead with the wedding.
This is told through the medium of mouthwatering descriptions of food and conversations with those around by her. It explores what women want vs what they think they want, plus their complicated relationships with their bodies and food. It's what happens when life doesn't go entirely to plan.
I loved this. I really got the class struggle of being a fish out of water`and trying to cope with the imposter syndrome of being somewhere you feel you shouldn't belong and dealing with family who you love, but are moving away from anything in common with them.This would be great for a book club.
Reproduction - Louisa Hall
A novelist working on a book about Mary Shelley compares Mary's life and times with her own struggles with fertility, pregnancy and childbirth while living through the pandemic. Through the return of an old friend, she explores the ethics of human intervention in reproductive science and the morality of genetic modification, which inspires her to write a modern retelling of Frankenstein.
This felt very "auto-fiction" and I was a bit thrown at the start wondering if it was the voice of the character or the author who was opening the book. I found this really thought provoking, but it did explore some very heavy themes and I think it would be quite harrowing for anyone struggling with fertility or loss.
The Museum of Failures - Thrity Umrigar
An Indian man with a white American wife returns to India to adopt a child from a cousin with an unwanted teen pregnancy. While there he discovers his estranged mother has been hospitalised and he is shocked to find her near death. He uncovers a family secret that explains why his mother was so emotionally distant during his childhood and he works on his relationship with her.
This was a really interesting look at Indian culture, religion and caste as well as an engaging story about family relationships and secrets. I liked this.
The Vulnerables - Sigrid Nunez
A short meditation on modern life told through the narrator's interactions with various strangers during lockdown in New York. There's a lot of insight into modern society and it's very well told despite being compact.
I'm getting a bit jaded with lockdown novels overall. The ones first out the gates were a bit of a novelty, but they are starting to feel a bit old hat. They'll probably be of more interest with a bit of distance to them, but I'm not thrilled when I encounter them at the moment.