Booker 25 - a thread

[Trojanbores]

Hello. I always try to read the Booker longlist.

Can anyone guess what might be on there this year? Any dead certs?

Anyone know if there will be a live stream of the shortlist announcement?

Yes it's here https://www.youtube.com/live/r6VO7dkRtjU?si=2vMrWYYtFhys_mli

Which ones are worth reading?

Well I’ve read The Land in Winter which I loved and Flesh which I admired but didn’t really love. Very disappointed by the absence of Seascraper . Also quite surprised by the inclusion of The Audition which I haven’t read but has attracted mixed reviews. Will try to read the others though massive waiting list at the library for the Desai.

Surprised to see no Seascraper but I enjoyed Flashlight, The Land in Winter found both Flesh and Audition interesting- they made me think and I’d like to reread both at some stage. Didn’t rate The Rest of our Lives. Have The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny coming this week so looking forward to reading it. My money is on Flesh winning.

I'm sad Endling wasn't on there.

I think Flesh was pretty good. I've been thinking about it long after I've finished it.

I've got The Rest of Our Lives from the library to read next. I'm not massively looking forward to that one. None of the reviews have really sold it to me, but we'll see.

I've ordered The Land in Winter. I'd noticed the paperback version was released today, so I suspected it would be on the shortlist.

I'm absolutely gobsmacked to see The Rest Of Our Lives on there. I'd read it a few months ago and was shocked that it made the longlist let alone the shortlist. It'll probably win now.

Audition is very readable and interesting to think about and discuss.
I really liked The Land In Winter, liked Flashlight but found it a bit bloated and found Flesh weirdly compelling.

Very sad not to see Seascraper and surprised not to see Endling.

Not sure whether to listen to Sonia & Sunny or buy it - the audio is half the price of the Kindle copy but sometimes it's confusing listening to a behemoth of a book.

Ok. I’m going for Flesh.

How are you getting on with Flesh @Trojanbores? I reserved this via Libby ages ago and it's just become available, I'm now in two minds whether to read it or not

It’s really good. Beautifullly written. I’m not sure about what the story is, but I am really enjoying reading it.

I listened to The Land in Winter, it's narrated by the author himself.
He said at a book event he found it tough but he is correct in that because he knew it so well, he could really nail the emphasis when needed. - I recommend
The Audition in contrast sounds like they used a robot, dreadful, have switched to text.

I listened to Seascraper, Love Forms and Flesh which were all good on audio. Flashlight was ok too.

So I started Flesh, and it's giving me Ian McEwan, Lessons vibes. 15 year old boy seduced by middle aged woman.
Does this actually happen as often as these authors suggest. A straw poll of my book club suggested it wasn't likely. Where are all the 15 year old girl groped by older men books?
Is it worth me preservering?

I think it is beautifully written and paced, but I don’t like the content. The writing makes it worthwhile. Better than McEwan I think.

The content of Flesh is interesting because although I do agree with the implausibility, there's a disconnect between the body and the mind that keeps it compelling - he inhabits his body and basically profits from it most of his life but seems so separate from it, which fits with the title.

He is a sympathetic character. Used by others and extraordinarily unlucky at the beginning, but he is not embittered. Life just seems to happen to him. He is passive in his own life.

Thanks everyone, will keep going.

I have just finished ‘Flesh’. I have never enjoyed reading a book that I really didn’t like before. He is a great writer and it is well-structured. Just empty. I guess that was the point.

i wonder where to go next.

I really liked Flesh- I think the style takes a while to get into but it eventually helps you see through Istvan’s eyes a lot more. Now that Seascraper is out, it’d be my first choice for winner.
Has anyone read The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny? I’m 200 pages in and really struggling. Some of the people in the wider families are somewhat interesting but Sonia and Sunny themselves are boring the pants off me. Is it worth persevering?

Shortlist
Flesh
The Land in Winter
The Rest of Our Lives
Audition
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Flashlight

Each time I see the list I’m surprised again that The Rest of our Lives is on it. I actually really enjoyed it but it’s…just a novel. Not particularly experimental or doing anything new.

Is Audition any good?

No 😂

That’s my short answer anyway! It enraged me to be quite honest. I know others here have enjoyed it though so it’s divisive. I found it shallow and basically pointless. It tries something interesting with form but takes it nowhere, and by the end I felt I had no real insight into the protagonist at all. She was so 2-D to me.

Audition - i think it was technically interesting but wouldn't it have been better if you'd been manipulated into investing in a character and the different ways that life could play out.

I did feel invested in the people in The Land in Winter.