The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Last year we collectively called 5 of the 6 books - 4 of them in the very first speculation post (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...) and only missed Playing Possum (which didn't even exist on GR).

But it was all a little last minute. So creating this thread now as a place to post books we come across during the year that may qualify.
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Shortlist discussion starts here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Thanks Paul. Presumably the rules are the same as last year, i.e. first published between 1 November 2017 and 31 October 2018. I have not yet read anything that fits...

As some starters - but this year I certainly won't go 4 for 6:

There is a glowing review in tomorrow's TLS from a seasoned spotter of innovative novels (and huge Playing Possum fan) David Collard for The Fountain in the Forest by Tony White.

TLS review (subscribers only) https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/pr...

I suspect Hugh may be interested in this one as it is written under the Oulipan constraint that each chapter must contain all the words that featured as solutions in the Guardian crossword on the day in which each chapter is set (although, sorry to say Hugh is it the quick one not the cryptic one).

Joanna Walsh has a novel coming out Break.up which given her short story writing I suspect may well be a contender and sounds a little Barker meets Self from the 2017 list.

Not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere but there is another free Goldsmiths Prize event on the 24th this month - Nicola Barker reading from H(A)PPY.

https://www.gold.ac.uk/calendar/?id=1...

And David Peace has Patient X: The Case-Book of Ryunosuke Akutagawa based on the life of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa - not sure if this is innovative enough but he is a previous shortlistee.

Hugh wrote: "Thanks Paul. Presumably the rules are the same as last year, i.e. first published between 1 November 2017 and 31 October 2018. I have not yet read anything that fits..."

I assume so - last year it opened for submissions on 20 Jan, so presumably the entry conditions will come out in the next few weeks.

Oh and another former shortlistee Will Eaves has Murmur coming out next month - based on Alamn Turing's story. Part of the book made the BBC National Short Story shortlist last year - listen here http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0952zlk

And of course this is all speculation about the runners up since the prize has already been awarded (well, by me anyway) to Kudos by Rachel 'annihilated perspective' Cusk

Paul wrote: "And of course this is all speculation about the runners up since the prize has already been awarded (well, by me anyway) to Kudos by Rachel 'annihilated perspective' Cusk"
Won't she have to do something more innovative this time?

Hugh wrote: "Won't she have to do something more innovative this time? ."

Well Transit was arguably a more conventional Outline and made the list - and anyway I have awarded the prize Lord of the Rings Oscar style for the trilogy.

I am still holding out faint hopes for winds of winter.

Gumble's Yard wrote: "I am still holding out faint hopes for winds of winter."

other than the author being American, never actually likely to come out as the TV series has taken over, and his writing as genre as you can get, that seems nailed on

Judges announced - Nicholas Lezard, Deborah Levy, Elif Shafak and Adam Mars-Jones.

That is a pretty impressive line up!

Deborah Levy on Preti Taneja: "One to watch"

More to the point she is a friend and huge admirer of MsAnnihilatedPerspective. May as well give Kudos the trophy now.

When is Okotie planning the third in his Absalon trilogy? Lezard is a massive fan of his.

Gumble's Yard wrote: "When is Okotie planning the third in his Absalon trilogy? Lezard is a massive fan of his."

Didn't he tell you when it was?

Good point. Just looked and it is 2019.

What are the feelings about Elif Shafak as a judge? I read Bastard of Instanbul and Forty Rules of Love and wasn't impressed. I have tried to read The Flea Palace, but it didnt hook me. I'm surprised to see she is judging this prize.

I read Three Daughters of Eve and Honor and was unimpressed with both.

Yes but writing a book and judging a prize are different - I read Gumble Yards sci-fi blockbuster 35 years ago and it was awful but that doesn't disqualify him from the RoC prize jury (although his lack of appreciation for Sorry to Disturb the Peace should).

Paul wrote: "Yes but writing a book and judging a prize are different - I read Gumble Yards sci-fi blockbuster 35 years ago and it was awful but that doesn't disqualify him from the RoC prize jury (although his..."

HAHAHA

GY and I share views on lots of books (including Sorry...). Maybe I need to read his sci-fi blockbuster!

On topic (sorry!) here is Elif Shafak on her experience judging the 2016 Bailey's Prize - which was of course awarded to the excellent The Glorious Heresies

https://www.womensprizeforfiction.co....

Paul wrote: "Yes but writing a book and judging a prize are different - I read Gumble Yards sci-fi blockbuster 35 years ago and it was awful but that doesn't disqualify him from the RoC prize jury (although his..."

That's true. She just struck my as an odd choice to judge the best in experimental fiction. It will be an interesting how her opinions of a book compare with Deborah Levy's.

When she was on Desert Island Discs (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08rp...) she chose System of a Down, Creep by Radiohead (as opposed to any of their subsequent drivel) and a Swedish death metal band (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNPKG...), so her taste is music is impeccable at least, which is another advantage she has over Gumble.

System of Down? Really? I am surprised. Elif Shafak, like Isabel Allende, who was interviewed on two podcasts this week, is a writer I think is interesting, but her books don't move me.

SOAD are quite tame versus her other choice Arch Enemy.

I do wonder if she will steer the prize towards political choices, as I see more of her writing about that than about literature per se.

Neil wrote: "GY and I share views on lots of books (including Sorry...). Maybe I need to read his sci-fi blockbuster!"

Totally on topic (hey, the Goldsmiths is about edgy masterpieces): Where can we find this sci-fi blockbuster? Now that some of the M&G crowd have established good connections with small presses, maybe it can be published and marketed as an indie masterpiece. We need that book in our lives, people!!

Paul wrote: "I do wonder if she will steer the prize towards political choices, as I see more of her writing about that than about literature per se."

Very interesting thought! As H(A)PPY was already a somewhat political book (e.g.: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_...), this seems possible and could be interesting - as long as it is not done at the expense of poetic and innovative quality.

"this seems possible and could be interesting - as long as it is not done at the expense of poetic and innovative quality" - i.e. as long as they don't do what the Booker jury did in 2016.

TLS today has a review of The Devil’s Highway by Gregory Norminton which looks like it could be a contender for the Goldsmiths.

Another likely contender Felix Culpa

See a review here http://lonesomereader.com/blog/2018/2...

"This is a novel that’s composed almost entirely from the lines of other works of fiction by (approximately) eighty authors as varied as Italo Calvino, Willa Cather, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack Kerouac, Cormac McCarthy and Mary Shelley."

Sounds fascinating - but something in the back of my mind says it has been done before. Rings any bells with anyone?

Sounds a bit like David Markson’s four books which consist of quotes and facts pulled from other sources. They are wonderful books!

Sounds like B.S. Johnson as well

Sounds like your book reviews Paul.

Gumble's Yard wrote: "Sounds like your book reviews Paul."

:-) In Lullaby my Kindle told me off for pasting too many comments (which goes to show how much it hit home)

That review was dangerously close to copyright breach!

Gumble's Yard wrote: "That review was dangerously close to copyright breach!"

That's exactly what my Kindle said

Sam Fisher's The Chameleon could be a contender - a novel narrated by a book.

Although even more so I suspect for the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize given the author is not only a independent bookseller, but was a judge of the RoC in 2017 and has just found a small independent press and the book comes with a blurb from the 2018 RoC winner.

I'm going for Tumours by Chay Collins ( review will be on the blog sometime by the end of May)

Tumours looks interesting and one of our fellow RoC judges has also posted a positive review. It is up against Joanna Walsh (for her mobile device based interactive story Seed) for the Sabotage Awards Best Novella this month.

Paul wrote: "Tumours looks interesting and one of our fellow RoC judges has also posted a positive review. It is up against Joanna Walsh (for her mobile device based interactive story Seed) for ..."

Great!!!!

I’m halfway through Natasha Carthew’s All Rivers Run Free, and it’s written in the vein of Eimear McBride, i.e. it consists of quite unconventional sentences. I wonder if it’s enough for qualification.

I read Felix Culpa earlier this year and could definitely see it on the Goldsmiths list this year.

Oh and hello, new to the group. Looking forward to discussing this and other autumn prizes with you all.

Welcome Tommi and thanks for the suggestion.

On Felix Culpa one negative I have seen raised elsewhere is that the authors quoted seem disproportionately male, which rather colours the story (or is it the opposite?) Any thoughts?

And the Carthew looks very interesting.

Thank you, Paul!

The only negative thing I point out in my review of Felix Culpa is, indeed, the disproportion you mention. I still wonder if it was a deliberate, “ironic” statement on male narratives or something. Would be interesting to hear what the author thinks.

The Guardian's review of "Break.up" by Joanna Walsh.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

Starts well and ends up rather negative - plan to get to this myself soon (well before the shortlist anyway)

I thought the same, Paul... not sure if it's worth picking up or not but I'm now more than ever convinced it will make the 2018 longlist. If you read it before then, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts. :)

In the meantime, I have her other book of short stories, Vertigo, and plan on reading it soon -- if I get along with the style/writing, I might give this one a shot after all!

I'm going to repeat

READ TUMOURS!!!!!

https://deucekindred.wordpress.com/20...

Madalena wrote: "In the meantime, I have her other book of short stories, Vertigo, and plan on reading it soon -- if I get along with the style/writing, I might give this one a shot after all! "

Vertigo is very good - a combination of Lydia Davis, Deborah Levy, Claire-Louise Bennett, Bae Suah and Diane Williams, as is Words from the Worlds End although the latter suffered from diminishing returns.

(my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)

Rather intriguingly at the time she disavowed writing a novel as the next step

I think, perhaps, I’m fundamentally not a “novelist”, which is difficult, as that is so often synonymous with the word “writer”. I have urgent things to say, and I’m not sure it wouldn’t be a detour for me to do this via conventional ideas of narrative or character.
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Robert wrote: "I'm going to repeat

READ TUMOURS!!!!!

https://deucekindred.wordpress.com/20..."

Yes Robert - your review is certainly very tempting.