21st Century Literature discussion

The long list for the 2015 Mann Booker has just been announced -- http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news....

Bill Clegg(US) - Did You Ever Have A Family(Jonathan Cape)

Anne Enright(Ireland) - The Green Road(Jonathan Cape)

Marlon James(Jamaca) A Brief History of Seven Killings(Oneworld Publications)

Laila Lalami(US) - The Moor's Account (Periscope, Garnet Publishing)

Tom McCarthy(UK) - Satin Island(Jonathan Cape)

Chigozie Obioma(Nigeria) - The Fishermen(ONE, Pushkin Press)

Andrew O'Hagan(UK) - The Illuminations(Faber & Faber)

Marilynne Robinson(US) - Lila(Virago)

Anuradha Roy(India) - Sleeping on Jupiter(MacLehose Press, Quercus)

Sunjeev Sahota(UK) - The Year of the Runaways(Picador)

Anna Smaill(New Zealand) - The Chimes(Sceptre)

Anne Tyler(US) - A Spool of Blue Thread(Chatto & Windus)

Hanya Yanagihara(US) - A Little Life(Picador)

Thanks for sharing Linda! Looks like I'll have a few things to add to my to-read pile!

So glad to see my favorite book this year "A Little Life" was included!

I never even finished last year's!

Caroline wrote: "Thanks for sharing Linda! Looks like I'll have a few things to add to my to-read pile!"

Yes, thanks, Linda! I sent it on to my f2f group, Goodreads links and all.

I have already done significant damage to my book budget by ordering a few of them, since I've read only one (Lila) and have only one on my shelf (A Little Life)!

The 2015 Man Booker short list was announced today (9/15/15):

The shortlist of authors and titles is as follows:

Marlon James (Jamaica), A Brief History of Seven Killings
Tom McCarthy (UK), Satin Island
Chigozie Obioma (Nigeria), The Fishermen
Sunjeev Sahota (UK), The Year of the Runaways
Anne Tyler (US), A Spool of Blue Thread
Hanya Yanagihara (US), A Little Life



http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment...
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/man-...

I've read three and one is sitting on my night table tbr. The two I haven't read will definitely be added. Thank goodness for libraries. And, thanks, Lily, for keeping us up to date.

I don't think that a Spool of Blue Thread belongs in the finals. I would have preferred to see The Illuminations there. I just started reading A Little Life, but haven't read the other final six.

Linda, I agree with you 100% about "Spool of Blue thread." Was thinking the same thing when I read the short list.

I liked A Spool of Blue Thread a lot and am not disappointed it is on the short list. I figured A Little Life, which we will be reading in October, had to be on the short list. It is a book that left me stunned. I don't think I'm up to reading A Brief History of Seven Killings but I do have The Fishermen and The Year of the Runaways on the shelf, so will move them up on the reading list! BTW, I'm a different Linda than the one at mesage 9!

Linda wrote: "...BTW, I'm a different Linda than the one at mesage 9! ..."

YOU are the Linda who gave us the long list in msg 1!

Have you (or anyone else here) read Bill Clegg's Did You Ever Have a Family ? It sounds sad, but intriguing to me.

A couple of readers I respect I have seen give A Little Life a so-so rating. I do have a library copy on its way for my use. I'll have to decide whether I want to read the whole thing.

One friend was recommended, by our local libary, A Spool of Blue Thread to read to his home-bound spouse. After reading part of it, he was returning it for something more upbeat!

I have Bill Clegg's book in hand but it will now have to wait a bit to be read! A Little Life can be hard on the reader as it is full of abuse - physical, mental, and sexual -- but I found it powerful and memorable.

Linda wrote: "I have Bill Clegg's book in hand but it will now have to wait a bit to be read! A Little Life can be hard on the reader as it is full of abuse - physical, mental, and sexual -- but I found it powe..."

Thanks for the feedback, Linda.

I haven't read the Clegg book, but am considering it. Wow, three Lindas. Well at least we each have different pictures.

Linda wrote: "I haven't read the Clegg book, but am considering it. Wow, three Lindas. Well at least we each have different pictures."

Three? What am I missing? Or maybe not on this page? (I do frequently have to check profiles to remember with which one of you I'm conversing.)

Lily wrote: "The 2015 Man Booker short list was announced today (9/15/15):

The shortlist of authors and titles is as follows:

Marlon James (Jamaica), A Brief History of Seven Killings..."</i>

Do people really think Tyler's [book:A Spool of Blue Thread even approaches the quality of books nominated for this prize? I read it six months to a year ago, and I recall it as an easy "beach read" type of novel, typical of Tyler's previous works. I am interested in opinions because I'm not sure it is worth my time to find it and peruse it again.

Maureen wrote: "Do people really think Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread even approaches the quality of books nominated for this prize? I read it six months to a year ago, and I recall it as an easy "beach read" type of novel, typical of Tyler's previous works. I am interested in opinions because I'm not sure it is worth my time to find it and peruse it again...."

See msg 12 for the only feedback I can give you, Maureen, except other comments I have seen that suggest they consider other of her books to be better. I rather wonder if this isn't a case of an author who may have been under-honored in past international literary awards being offered a shot in the arm this year. But that is speculation. She has been a Pulitzer winner and finalist. Tyler is a worthy writer who has been writing for some time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Tyler

Lily wrote: "Maureen wrote: "Do people really think Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread even approaches the quality of books nominated for this prize? I read it six months to a year ago, and I recall it as an easy "..."

Thanks Lily. It is good to know I am not off base.

Maureen wrote: "Lily wrote: "The 2015 Man Booker short list was announced today (9/15/15):

The shortlist of authors and titles is as follows:

Marlon James (Jamaica), [book:A Brief History of S..."

It is rare, if impossible, that every author, let alone every book, will be thought worthy by all readers (or even a majority) of a particular prize for which it is nominated. Anne Tyler, to my mind, has a great understanding of individual and family dynamics and uses that understanding to write very realistic novels about how families really work. Her novels are not exciting but they are well written and often poignant.

Maureen wrote: "Lily wrote: "Maureen wrote: "Do people really think Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread even approaches the quality of books nominated for this prize? I read it six months to a year ago, and I recall it..."

Maureen, I agree. I'm a Tyler fan, but this book wasn't up to her standards, nor those of the Bookers

Re: Message 20 and 21 - Thank you for your response following Lily's. I appreciate it!

And the winner is A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James! I've yet to read this one but it's on my to-read list.

Caroline wrote: "And the winner is A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James! I've yet to read this one but it's on my to-read list."

This is about the only one I didn't want to read! But I have heard a lot of good things about it that are starting to make me think I should add it to the pile!

Linda wrote: "Caroline wrote: "And the winner is A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James! I've yet to read this one but it's on my to-read list."

This is about the only ..."

An NPR article:
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-wa...

Marlon James has won this year's Man Booker literary award for his novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. James is the first Jamaican-born author to win the prestigious prize, which has only been open to writers outside the British Commonwealth for the past two years.

The prize made headlines earlier this year when organizers announced a longlist that included five Americans, up from four last year. Two of them made the final list — Anne Tyler, for A Spool of Blue Thread, and bookmakers' favorite Hanya Yanagihara, for A Little Life — but the night belonged to James.

A Brief History is based on a real-life assassination attempt on reggae star Bob Marley in 1976. Michael Wood, chair of the judging panel, called it the most exciting book on this year's list, but, he added, "It is not an easy read. It is a big book. There is some tough stuff and there is a lot of swearing but it is not a difficult book to approach."

My husband recently heard James speak and bought the book. I'm anxious to start it. He was an excellent speaker.

Marlon James has been doing a lot of interviews on BBC Radio this week, and it sounds like an interesting book, and unusually for a Booker winner it appears that the UK paperback is already available! The early bookmakers' favourites very rarely win the Booker.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/20...

Old news, but it speaks a bit about this year's judges for the 2015 Man Booker.

One of the reasons I have been increasingly trying to include the judges in our book award discussions is that I think as readers we can sometimes benefit from comprehending the possible world view of these people who essentially make recommendations to the rest of us. One gets to "not caring" in info overload, but still....

Lily wrote: "http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/20...

Old news, but it speaks a bit about this year's judges for the 2015 Man Booker.

One of the reasons ..."

Thanks Lily. I've always had trouble with the Man Booker lists and winners for this very reason. I think the problem is that "literature" needs redefining, because writing (and the novel) is changing drastically. Old ideas of what "serious" literature looks like need to be abandoned.

Janice George (JG) wrote: "...I think the problem is that 'literature' needs redefining, because writing (and the novel) is changing drastically. Old ideas of what 'serious' literature looks like need to be abandoned...."

Janice -- please do say more, or point us to a link (article) or two that expand on what you are saying.

Lily wrote: "Janice George (JG) wrote: "...I think the problem is that 'literature' needs redefining, because writing (and the novel) is changing drastically. Old ideas of what 'serious' literature looks like n...

Janice -- please do say more, or point us to a link (article) or two that expand on what you are saying..."

I knew you were going to say that. I don't really have any specifics to back up my sweeping statement. There are 21st Century authors who are really inventive (ie Jonathan Lethem, Kathryn Davis, Colin Cotterill, Ben Fountain, Lauren Beukes) and who slip through the net of genre and play in the fields of politics, magical realism & surrealism, technology, mythology, psychology, and more. And I think they are creating literature that breaks the boundaries of what has served us as "novelism" in the past right up to this new millennium. These are excellent writers creating the new literature, "of superior and lasting artistic merit."

Anyway, that's just my opinion :) Now I would like to find more women authors who knock my socks off.

Janice George (JG) wrote: "Lily wrote: "Janice George (JG) wrote: "...I think the problem is that 'literature' needs redefining, because writing (and the novel) is changing drastically. Old ideas of what 'serious' literature..."

Thx, Janice. Those are authors I do not know! ;-(

PS (11/1/15) -- to make it easy for others to find the Goodreads lists of their work: Jonathan Lethem, Kathryn Davis, Colin Cotterill, Ben Fountain, Lauren Beukes.

Janice George (JG) wrote: "Lily wrote: "Janice George (JG) wrote: "...I think the problem is that 'literature' needs redefining, because writing (and the novel) is changing drastically. Old ideas of what 'serious' literature..."

Thanks for the list. I've come into discussion maybe at its end - I've tended to like Booker Prize winners, but not always. The 2 things that matter the most to me is that publishers seem ONLY interested in genre fiction. If you're cross-genre, you're basically screwed. Even if you write literary fiction, you're expected to write in the 3rd person POV, personal. Everything sounds the same. When I wrote my novel, it was classified by editors as literary but tends to get swept into "LGBT" despite its universal themes. Also a prejudice. Secondly, that we don't lower our standards of good literature just because our education system is questionable.

Linda wrote: "The long list for the 2015 Mann Booker has just been announced -- http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news....

Bill Clegg(US) - [book:Did You Ev..."

Can you tell us which 2 you recommend the most and why? (If you know already.)

Gerry wrote: "Linda wrote: "The long list for the 2015 Mann Booker has just been announced -- http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news....

Bill Clegg(US) - [b..."

Well, I've read to date 5 on the long list and 2 on the short list ([book:A Spool of Blue Thread|22501028]and A Little Life. While I liked Spool, I've never read anything like A Little Life before and it is a book that is sticking with me. Spool I like because I like stories of families that ring true. I'm not as big a fan of the Man Booker list as I am of the National Book Award for fiction. On the thread for that discussion I give my ranking of the finalists and links to my reviews.

This is so interesting. I've been asking the same question, about not just literature in general, but why I'm putting aside so many books lately that don't seem to engage me. One book that changed, or helped me understand my own change, was How Literature Saved My Life. I don't think I own it, I think it was a library book, and although it's classified as non-fiction, it is a discussion of literature that has the feeling of fiction. I need to read it again. I'm just picking up A Little Life this afternoon from the library, but I''m deep in Orfeo, so I don't know which way I'll go.

Something about literature has changed, and something about me has, also. I can't separate the two in my mind. I'll look forward to seeing more from all of you.