Booker Prize Longlist
13 books were longlisted for this year's Booker Prize for Fiction, 6 of which have made the shortlist. I've read 11 of the 13, since I’m still waiting for my library reservation on Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley to come in, and I’ve decided not to bother with Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (mainly because it's part of a series which I haven't read).
Here's my 2022 Booker longlist ranking (as it currently stands):
1. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (shortlisted)
The Seven Moons of Maali Almedia does an impressive job of rendering comprehensible the fantastic world it creates, and the history of Sri Lanka's civil war that it describes. Amidst all the chaos of the afterlife, where Maali Almeida finds himself, is a wonderfully simple conceit: once you die, you have seven days to enter The Light, or you’re stuck in the In Between forever. This one blew me away.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Trust by Hernan Diaz
Trust is a metaliterary book that tells the story of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. It started out as an interesting and engaging read, but soon became something much cleverer. I loved seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and I loved the way the writing style changed to suit each narrator. I didn’t want to put this one down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. The Trees by Percival Everett (shortlisted)
The Trees is a hard-hitting murder mystery set against the backdrop of historical and present-day racism in America. But don't expect a neat resolution. The Trees is a real page-turner, which leaves a lot of the possibilities it raises in the air. I definitely want to read more from this brilliantly unpredictable author.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. The Colony by Audrey Magee
The Colony is the story of an Irish island, whose inhabitants’ routines are disturbed when two tourists come to stay for the summer, interspersed with snippets of stories from the contemporaneous Irish troubles. I loved the sense of place and attention to detail, as Audrey Magee explores the theme of colonisation with humour and subtlety. Another one I didn't want to put down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Treacle Walker by Alan Garner (shortlisted)
Treacle Walker is my first book by Alan Garner, but from what I've read about him, people familiar with his work won't be surprised that this novella reads like a fairytale. When a convalescent boy encounters an enigmatic traveller, the way he sees and experiences the world begins to change. I really enjoyed this one, even when I didn't fully understand it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz
After Sappho is a speculative, lyrical novel, which follows a network of women across the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries as they fight for the right to live and love as they please. I loved the writing style, and the push and pull between the past and the future. I found the episodic structure and sheer number of characters a little difficult to maintain interest in, but I can see why it would be a five-star read for others.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Case Study is another metaliterary one. This novel is presented as a collection of notebooks given to the author, written by a young woman who visited an infamous psychiatrist in 1960s London, and interwoven with the author’s biography of the psychiatrist’s life. I always enjoy books which pretend to be about real life, and I found Case Study almost impossible to put down. I would have liked a little more resolution to the ending, though.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Booth is a nineteenth-century family saga. It alternates its focus between the children of celebrated Shakespearean actor Junius Brutus Booth, one of whom is John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln. I found this one a really engaging read, but I'm not quite sure what the point of it all was.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (shortlisted)
Glory is the story of tyranny and revolution in a fictional land, which belongs to a recognisably real world. NoViolet Bulawayo is an impressive writer, and she has created a frighteningly relevant book, that strikes the perfect balance between the specific and the general. However, I struggled at times with Glory, and never really understood what the characters being animals added to the story.
⭐⭐⭐
10. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (shortlisted)
Small Things Like These is the only book I had already read when the longlist was announced. It's a novella set during the Christmas of 1958, in a small Irish town with a secret. I liked the sense of time and place, but I personally found this story a little slow and a little short.
⭐⭐⭐
11. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies tells the story of Lia's struggle with breast cancer. It is a deliberately poetic book, which includes some typographical variations, and is narrated partly by Lia's cancer cells. I found it an interesting and unusual read, but it unfortunately never really grabbed or held my attention. As a result, I struggled to get to the end.
⭐⭐⭐
Have you read any of the nominated books?
Here's my 2022 Booker longlist ranking (as it currently stands):
1. The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (shortlisted)
The Seven Moons of Maali Almedia does an impressive job of rendering comprehensible the fantastic world it creates, and the history of Sri Lanka's civil war that it describes. Amidst all the chaos of the afterlife, where Maali Almeida finds himself, is a wonderfully simple conceit: once you die, you have seven days to enter The Light, or you’re stuck in the In Between forever. This one blew me away.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
2. Trust by Hernan Diaz
Trust is a metaliterary book that tells the story of the 1929 Wall Street Crash. It started out as an interesting and engaging read, but soon became something much cleverer. I loved seeing the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and I loved the way the writing style changed to suit each narrator. I didn’t want to put this one down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
3. The Trees by Percival Everett (shortlisted)
The Trees is a hard-hitting murder mystery set against the backdrop of historical and present-day racism in America. But don't expect a neat resolution. The Trees is a real page-turner, which leaves a lot of the possibilities it raises in the air. I definitely want to read more from this brilliantly unpredictable author.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4. The Colony by Audrey Magee
The Colony is the story of an Irish island, whose inhabitants’ routines are disturbed when two tourists come to stay for the summer, interspersed with snippets of stories from the contemporaneous Irish troubles. I loved the sense of place and attention to detail, as Audrey Magee explores the theme of colonisation with humour and subtlety. Another one I didn't want to put down.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
5. Treacle Walker by Alan Garner (shortlisted)
Treacle Walker is my first book by Alan Garner, but from what I've read about him, people familiar with his work won't be surprised that this novella reads like a fairytale. When a convalescent boy encounters an enigmatic traveller, the way he sees and experiences the world begins to change. I really enjoyed this one, even when I didn't fully understand it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
6. After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz
After Sappho is a speculative, lyrical novel, which follows a network of women across the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries as they fight for the right to live and love as they please. I loved the writing style, and the push and pull between the past and the future. I found the episodic structure and sheer number of characters a little difficult to maintain interest in, but I can see why it would be a five-star read for others.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
7. Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet
Case Study is another metaliterary one. This novel is presented as a collection of notebooks given to the author, written by a young woman who visited an infamous psychiatrist in 1960s London, and interwoven with the author’s biography of the psychiatrist’s life. I always enjoy books which pretend to be about real life, and I found Case Study almost impossible to put down. I would have liked a little more resolution to the ending, though.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
8. Booth by Karen Joy Fowler
Booth is a nineteenth-century family saga. It alternates its focus between the children of celebrated Shakespearean actor Junius Brutus Booth, one of whom is John Wilkes Booth, the man who killed Abraham Lincoln. I found this one a really engaging read, but I'm not quite sure what the point of it all was.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
9. Glory by NoViolet Bulawayo (shortlisted)
Glory is the story of tyranny and revolution in a fictional land, which belongs to a recognisably real world. NoViolet Bulawayo is an impressive writer, and she has created a frighteningly relevant book, that strikes the perfect balance between the specific and the general. However, I struggled at times with Glory, and never really understood what the characters being animals added to the story.
⭐⭐⭐
10. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (shortlisted)
Small Things Like These is the only book I had already read when the longlist was announced. It's a novella set during the Christmas of 1958, in a small Irish town with a secret. I liked the sense of time and place, but I personally found this story a little slow and a little short.
⭐⭐⭐
11. Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer
Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies tells the story of Lia's struggle with breast cancer. It is a deliberately poetic book, which includes some typographical variations, and is narrated partly by Lia's cancer cells. I found it an interesting and unusual read, but it unfortunately never really grabbed or held my attention. As a result, I struggled to get to the end.
⭐⭐⭐
Have you read any of the nominated books?
No comments have been added yet.
