The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Just in case anyone is already more interested in next year's prize than this year's, I'll kick this off now. Doug has already started a list here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Paul Auster is a shoo-in on first name alone.

Blown his chance with publication date.

No Irish child protagonists please, we've had our fair share of those...

Perhaps next year will be Year of the Michael?

I don’t know about it’s chances with the Booker, but I expect the Pulitzer to be the year of Percival.

That dues feel designed for a US audience more than a UK one and the Pulitzer has some catching up to do with recognising him.

New Richard Powers announced today: Playground.

This time he’s tackling the oceans.

Only release date info so far is ‘next year’, but if it’s before the cut-off it’ll be a contender. Very excited for it.

It’s been announced as a September 2024 date for uk publication - which is probably the worst month for Booker chances.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "It’s been announced as a September 2024 date for uk publication - which is probably the worst month for Booker chances."

But not unheard of! Powers' last book, Bewilderment, was released in September too and that was longlisted

I see Tremor as a strong contender next year. I wonder if its publication date (19-October 2023) will hurt its chances.

Loving that the listopia has been commandeered by ‘Girl on Fire’.

Can’t believe I missed the Playground release date. Had been looking for it in the text of the Instagram post, but it was in the image!

Just read Carys Davies’ Clear and it was great. Could be a contender.

I've just finished reading Scott Preston's The Borrowed Hills, could easily see this being nominated next year.

I will have to see if I can get that.

Very intrigued by Percival Everett's 'James' - anyone read it yet? Im still waiting on NetGalley...

Early reviews look promising.

I've read James, Jo. I loved it.

I was lucky enough to hear Percival Everett speak about his latest novel on a panel this November. I would say he isn't great about explaining his books and is a bit impatient with the whole idea of an author having any say whatsoever about what a book means, once it's published. But one incredibly interesting thing happened, almost in spite of his tendency toward reticence about his work. He started talking about the movie Twelve Years a Slave, and about his almost affronted feeling about how the protagonist, this educated, Yankee, FREE black man, when thrust into a world where he is enslaved on a southern plantation, is able to communicate freely with the other enslaved people, to both understand them and be understood by them. Everett said that it would never happen that way, because enslaved people develop their own languages that allow them to speak and communicate deep meanings even when enslaved, meanings that people outside the group--usually people who have power over them--have no way of understanding.

So it was this big aside he made that for the most part I think may have gone over the heads of people who haven't read the novel, which was most of the audience. But it really drove home to me that there is a lot going on in this novel, linguistically speaking.

Lark wrote: "I've read James, Jo. I loved it.

I was lucky enough to hear Percival Everett speak about his latest novel on a panel this November. I would say he isn't great about explaining his books and is a ..."

When I listened to him speak at Cheltenham Festival about The Trees he was definitely giving off impatient vibes so making your comment even more interesting.

I am now even more intrigued! Linguistically Everett is a genius. I absolutely can't wait to read it! April is a long way away...

Would it interest someone who has not read and knows nothing about Huckleberry Finn Lark?

I have an ARC of James, but haven't reviewed it yet. I would draw a contrast between this book and Kingsolver's book, even though both draw inspiration from 19th century classics.

Demon Copperhead was an homage to David Copperfield, drawing inspiration from Dickens (mostly positively) to tell a similar story set in 21st century Appalachia.

James, on the other hand, is a re-write of Twain. The same story (set in 19th century Missouri), but told in a very different way.

Lark might have more insight than me, but I would say it's more important to have familiarity with Huck Finn than it was to have read David Copperfield.

Hmm like Jo I am waiting on an NetGalley ARC and have been a long time … but I must admit Huck Finn does not interest me much. That’s a helpful comparison David.

I would say at least read the wikipedia summary of Huck Finn before you read James.

GY, at least Huckleberry Finn is very short. You could read it in 90 minutes to 2 hours. I hadn't read it for decades but I decided to reread it, or almost to co-read it, as I was reading James. A lot of the scenes are more resonant and the linguistic changes Everett was hinting at in his talk are a lot more stark. So it's not necessary to read Huckleberry Finn but it will enhance the experience, I think.

Another thing James said emphatically at the beginning is that he has no argument with Huckleberry Finn, that he thinks it's a great work of American literature. I'm not sure, having read James, that he means this 100% or just feels it's important to not position his book as the "anti-Huckleberry Finn" book, or have it in any way tangled up in the culture wars if he can help it.

That’s a fascinating insight Everett offered about the language of the enslaved. I’ll be getting gift card to B&N for Christmas and I’ll buy James then.

I will read Huck Finn. Mark Twain was a genius, one of America’s great political satirists and anti-racist, and I haven’t read him an years.

The judges for the Booker Prize 2024 have been announced, as submissions open
Artist and author Edmund de Waal chairs the 2024 judging panel and is joined by award-winning novelist Sara Collins; Fiction Editor of the Guardian, Justine Jordan; world-renowned writer and professor Yiyun Li; and musician, composer and producer Nitin Sawhney

I think this is an excellent group

Sara Collins did such a good job of chairing the shortlist readings.

If you want some Justine Jordan hints as to what might interest her (although of course a lot of books were 2023 eligible)

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/202...

Yiyun Li is a very good writer

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "The judges for the Booker Prize 2024 have been announced, as submissions open
Artist and author Edmund de Waal chairs the 2024 judging panel and is joined by award-winning novelist Sara Collins; Fi..."

Well That is such incredible news! Li and Jordan in one panel

A star studded one!

Aside from the authors Nintin Swahney also is a dj and has played alongside Paul McCartney and put together a pretty good dj mix for the fabric label:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLA...

I think from Justine Jordan’s list the only eligible ones are Julia, Tremor, Blackouts, Cahokia Jazz and Orbital. All I think have a strong chance anyway.

I may have missed some.

Tremor stand a great chance, as well as Parade by Rache Cusk given the Edmund is the chair judges which mean we will see at least two or three books about art and artist on the list

Whalefall by Elizabethe O'Connor may stand a chance

I woke up to this announcement of the 2024 judges:

https://thebookerprizes.substack.com/...

I think you missed our discussion on it Cindy - see the previous 5-6 posts)

Oh dear!!! How right you are GY. My apologies. I was surprised not to have heard the news from this group before I saw it in my email!

I think it's a terrific group and hopefully one that will produce a much stronger longlist than we had this year. I have Li's Wednesday's Child story collection on the top of one of my TBR piles. Has anyone read it?

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "If you want some Justine Jordan hints as to what might interest her (although of course a lot of books were 2023 eligible)

https://amp.theguardian.com/books/202..."

Bit worrying that - while with less snark than others - she seems a paid up member of the Bee Sting woz robbed club. Also bizarre that all of the best fiction of 2024 was written by English speakers - yes there is another Guardian translated list, but this one should be labelled as original English.

But generally that's a good article and it looks a good panel.

Yes agreed re Bee Sting - but I will take the lack of snark

Cindy wrote: "I have Li's Wednesday's Child story collection on the top of one of my TBR piles. Has anyone read it?"

I haven't read Wednesday's Child but I'd be interested in your thoughts if you do get to it, Cindy. I've only read The Book of Goose from her.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "Yes agreed re Bee Sting - but I will take the lack of snark"

So will I!

Held by Anne Michaels may be a contender next year.

I'm quite looking forward to that one David.

Me too. I loved both of her previous novels.

I loved Fugitive Pieces and I have, but have not read The Winter Vault. Are those the two you read, Hugh? I see she has a few books, but I think these are the only novels.

Just finished reading Question 7 by Richard Flanagan and I’m wondering if this will be eligible. Anyway can highly recommend this as an excellent book.

Is it fiction? It sounds wonderful but it also sounds like a memoir

Hmm it appears to be categorized differently in several places. The US publisher, PRH, has it categorized as "Biography & Memoir", but the Library of Congress MARC record describes it as a novel and the Dewey number assigned is 823 which corresponds to "English fiction". And The Guardian review introduces it as a blend of "memoir and history and auto-fiction".

Sounds like the perfect controversial inclusion.

Except the author is Australian and so apparently no longer eligible.

But he gets a special exemption if he mentions the fact that he finished the book the day his cat died.

It does actually look rather interesting though.

Flanagan won previously so I’m not sure he is a complete wildcard but this book is definitely very different and does have a strong element of fiction. I hope it is considered, not just because he is Australian.

Next summer there are new novels coming from Alan Hollinghurst, Susanna Clarke and Rachel Kushner according to an article in The Times today.

Mohamed wrote: "Next summer there are new novels coming from Alan Hollinghurst, Susanna Clarke and Rachel Kushner according to an article in The Times today."

Blackwells does a handy list of forthcoming books to look out for in 2024, several pages of titles although does include non-fiction:

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/col...