International Booker Prize

[Phil D]

Not to wish misfortune, but I'm glad Undiscovered didn't make the cut. Found it a very difficult work to care about. Felt like one of those episode of family-tree-story-telling sponsored by ancestory.com. And not necessarily an interesting one. Not even sure something like that would be pass publication standards in my neck of the woods

Dunno what neck of the woods you're referring to, but I thought it was really good. I thought she brought together the strands of colonial history, family history, and autobiography really effectively. I find her consistently interesting and insightful as a writer and I plan to keep reading more of her work in future.

 

[Bartleby]

I'm hoping now the Hwang book takes the prize. It would be an incentive for me to finally pick one of his books up. Plus the synopsis caught my attention.

Also this:

How does it feel to be longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024, and what would winning the prize mean to you? Would it also have an impact on literature originating from your country?

I’ve been nominated for international literary awards a dozen times or so over the past 20 years, but I’ve never made it as far as winning the actual award. I figured this time would be the same. But for some reason I feel a little more excited about this one. Maybe it’s because I feel that I don’t have much time left, or because of my affection for this book, which I wrote while in seclusion during the pandemic in a part of the country that was unfamiliar to me. If I were to win this time, I think it would give me the fuel I need to complete the next three novels that I’ve been planning to write.

I feel for the guy.

 

[Dante]

I am sorry that Starnone didn't make it to the shortlist. At this point, I will root for Hwang Sok-yong.

Of the remaining ones, I am also intrigued by that Dutch novel, What I'd rather not think about. Has anyone read it?

 

[Verkhovensky]

Of the remaining ones, I am also intrigued by that Dutch novel, What I'd rather not think about. Has anyone read it?

I don't get it, you are intrigued, yet you don't want to think about it?