The longlist for the 2013 Booker Prize was announced earlier today. I wasn’t surprised that I managed to predict so few of the contenders – it is such a strange year for fiction! Nothing seems to be outstanding so far, but as many of the longlist haven’t been publihsed yet I’m hopeful that there are a few gems to be discoverd.
The 2013 Man Booker Prize Longlist:
Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw
Five words from the blurb: migrant, workers, Shanghai, Malaysia, adventure
Perfect for fans of Maps for Lost Lovers by Nadeem Aslam
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
Five words from the blurb: shanty, Zimbabwe, mischeif, dreams, challenges
Perfect for fans of The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Five words from the blurb: New Zealand, crimes, vanished, historical, mystery
Perfect for fans of C by Tom McCarthy
Harvest by Jim Crace
Five words from the blurb: village, outsiders, fire, witchcraft, scattered
Perfect for fans of The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris
Five words from the blurb: Jewish, community, London, stranger, secrets
Perfect for fans of The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
The Kills by Richard House
Five words from the blurb: crime, conspiracy, continents, multimedia, body
Perfect for fans of The Ipcress File by Len Deighton
The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri
Five words from the blurb: Calcutta, childhood, tragedy, rebellion, transformed
Perfect for fans of Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph
Unexploded by Alison MacLeod
Five words from the blurb: Brighton, war, boys, Jewish, news
Perfect for fans of Ignorance by Michèle Roberts
TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
Five words from the blurb: airmen, flight, Ireland, agreement, free
Perfect for fans of The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver
Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson
Five words from the blurb:: London, mother, Hungarian, secrets, traditions
Perfect for fans of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
Five words from the blurb: diary, girl, tsunami, change, life
Perfect for fans of Hard-Boiled Wonderland And The End Of The World by Haruki Murakami
The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
Five words from the blurb: Ireland, crash, tensions, violence, generations
Perfect for fans of The Aftermath by Rhidian Brook
The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín
Five words from the blurb: grief, lost, myth, religion, lifetime
Perfect for fans of The Infinities by John Banville
My thoughts on the longlist
I’ve only read one book from this list: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. I thought it was excellent and I can see it appealing to a wide cross section of people. I also abandoned The Kills (a spy story that failed to hold my attention) and TransAtlantic (you can read my thoughts on McCann’s novel in this post).
It is hard to comment on the rest of the choices as I haven’t read them, but I love the fact that so many are new to me. I hope to try them all over the next month or two and will let you know my thoughts.
What do you think of the longlist?
If you’ve read any of the books do you agree with my “perfect for fans of” selections?
14 replies on “The 2013 Man Booker Prize Longlist”
I read and really enjoyed the Crace, but that’s as far as I’ve got. I like the sound of the Ellie Catton and The Kills, but don’t plan to read the list.
Annabel, I’m half way through ‘Harvest’ and am enjoying it so far. I hope you enjoy whichever books you decide to try.
I’ve read Ozeki’s (loved it) and Crace’s (didn’t care much for it) and that’s it. I’m surprised at how many of them aren’t in my library database yet, not even on order. More than the past few years, it will be interesting to see how many I get to read before the prize is awarded.
Shan, Yes, very few are in my library system either. I think this must be a record year for number of books that haven’t even been published yet. It does make it hard to form an opinion before the shortlist is announced 🙁
The Luminaries was one of my recent Waiting on Wednesday picks, it just sounds so fantastic. I love a good, huge book and that totally fits the bill. I’ve heard so many great things about Ruth Ozeki’s book, it looks like I definitely have to squeeze it in now.
Shannon, ‘The Luminaries’ does sound good, but I know I struggled with ‘The Rehearsal’ so am a bit scared of the 500+ page version!
I happy with the long list because it’s so diverse! I’ve only read two of them. I really enjoyed A Tale for the Time Being. We Need New Names was SO good. Incredibly powerful.
Jennifer, Yes, it is lovely to see so much diversity! It is great to have another endorsement for ‘We Need New Names’ – I look forward to trying it soon.
For the first time in a few years I find this an attractive longlist, and one that doesn’t seem (on first glance) to have an agenda. No shocking omissions either, since this year hasn’t for me produced any stand-outs as yet. I still don’t plan on reading them all but I’m certainly looking forward to a few of the forthcoming ones (Catton, Lahiri, MacLeod).
So far I’ve read only two: ‘Harvest’ I liked a lot and it reminded me a bit of Barry Unsworth’s wonderful ‘Morality Play’. It isn’t, however, even remotely like Elizabeth Strout’s ‘The Burgess Boys’! I also read ‘The Testament of Mary’ when it came out last year and of the 160 books I read in 2012 I’d have ranked it 160th – I just didn’t like his approach at all.
David, This is the best longlist I’ve seen in a while too, although I worry that might be due to the fact I haven’t read many (and neither has anyone else!) so it is harder to know if there are any duds.
Thanks for letting me know about ‘The Burgess Boys’ I haven’t read it, but thought Crace’s writing was similar to ‘Olive Kitteridge’ and ‘The Burgess Boys’ sounded like a more similar premise. I’ll change it to your suggestion.
Well, I guess I better get reading some of these (5) are on my TBR list. Especially looking forward to Lowlands.
Diane, Enjoy! I look forward to your thoughts.
I’m currently struggling with “Transatlantic” which surprises me since I loved “Let the Great World Spin.”
I was a bit surprised to see that “Americanah” was not on the list, but was delighted to see “We Need New Names” on it. Violet Bulawayo is a talented new voice, and I actually preferred her book to Adichie’s.
I am impressed by the variety in the list this year – so I am hoping I get a chance to read at least a couple before the announcement. I loved Let The Great World Spin so have been looking forward to Transatlantic (hoping I enjoy it more than you did!). Five Star Billionaire, The Spinning Heart and A Tale for the Time Being really appeal to me also.