I have decided to read the ENTIRE Man Booker Prize by which I mean not just the official winners but the long and short list as well. A bit excessive (or obsessive) perhaps? But I look it as a good reference to introduce myself to books I may not otherwise have come across of it I did had not originally thought to actually pursue. I have random system for choosing which books I read next so there is no special significance to the order they are listed in.
I will divide the nominees from the winners to make it easy to distinguish which is which. I will post the books I have read thus far with some commentary as to my thoughts on the book.
For those books I have read prior to officially starting this challenge I will post separately.
Winners
Nominees
The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt: While I am not listing these books in any chronological order this happend to be the book that really kicked off this challenge for me and gave me the idea to do this. It was in many ways a very interesting book that had a lot of elements which I very much enjoy. For one I love book that center around art and this book dealt with the contemporary art world. I thought it was quite poignant in its observations and criticisms and addressed the struggles of women in the art world. It also used multiple narrators and segments of letters, interviews etc.. to tell the story, which I generally find a compelling technique.
Derby Day by D. J. Taylor: I will admit there were parts of this book that were a bit dry and tedious but for all that it was still quite entertaining on the whole. It deals with the seedy underbelly of the Victorian Age particularly revolving around horse racing at the time. I loved the dry statistical wit and there is an compelling (if not altogether respectable or likable) cast of characters) One of the things that was great about the book is that each chapter starts with a clipping from an actual Victorian newspaper or magazine/pamphlet.
Child 44 by Rob Smith: A very dystopic book that is yet set in actual history and revolves around events that truly happend. A book set in Communist Russia it features Leo Demidov a loyal MGB officer who becomes wrapped up in an investigation involving the murder of children which ultimately begins to make him question everything he has done for his government and his former faith in his government. There is a lot going on in this novel, it is a murder mystery but also so much more. A good fast paced thriller.
English Passengers by Matthew Kneale: This was in many ways a very unique book. I was first drawn to it because of my enjoyment of seafaring novels. I did think that it got off to a bit of a slow start, but by midway through I was quite hooked. It has a great satirical humor. Most of the characters of in many ways quite awful people but that should not be a deterrent for reading the book. It is very much a parady of English Colonialism. It details the English colony of Australia when it was used as a dumping ground for prisoners as well as the interactions between the English and the Aboriginals.
Feasting, Fasting by Anita Desia: I thought this book was quite lyrically and beautifully written. It was one of the those books in which I did want to keep turning page after page. It is the book of a young girl, Uma, growing up in India who does not quite fit in. She lacks the beauty and grace of her younger sister, and she is clumsy at the domestic chores her family (and the society and culture of the time) expect of her. She loves school and wishes more than anything to continue her education and yet she is in spite of her best efforts a poor student. In addition we have a few rather eccentric relatives. A rather religiously zealous Hindu aunt and black sheep of the family uncle who Uma into a few misadventures.
The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald: A quite delightful book about how the lives of two people are quite drastically changed after a rather misfortune bicycle collision. A rather charming humorous book.
Confederates by Thomas Keneally: In someways this is an underrated book in other ways it is an outdated book. The reason why I say this is because on the one hand there is no denying that it is a sweeping epic of the Civil War. Keneally is a talented writer and knows how to weave a story. I appreciated the way in which he illustrated the way the war affected so many peoples lives (not just those directly involved in the fighting) and the way he displayed how relationships between people were affected by the war. On the other hand while I understand that this book was written from the point of view of the Confederates there are moments when there is a strong sense that the author himself not just the narrative voice had a confederate leaning bias. It is a book about the Civil War and yet slavery is scarcely mentioned or shown throughout the whole book. The few examples of slaves that are portrayed follow the ye old romanticized ideal of house slave who is treated just like one of the family. I also find Keneally’s views of women to be quite chauvinistic. While there are a select few admirable female characters (well one in particular) a majority of the women in the book are shown to be pretty little things just waiting to jump into bed with the first man to walk by.
Read Pre-Challenge
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Winner)
Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel (Winner)
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Winner)
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (Winner)
The Blind Assassin by Margret Atwood (Winner)
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Winner)
Possesion by A. S. Byatt (Winner)
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Winner)
The Bone People by Keri Hulme (Winner)
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (Winner)
The North Water by Ian McGuire (Nominee)
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Nominee)
Room by Emma Donoghue (Nominee)
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (Nominee)
On Chisel Beach by Ian McEwan (Nominee)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (Nominee)
Saturday by Ian McEwan (Nominee)
Cloud Atlass by David Mitchell (Nominee)
The Master by Colm Tobin (Nominee)
Oryx and Crake by Margret Atwood (Nominee)
Atonement by Ian McEwan (Nominee)
Alias Grace by Margret Atwood (Nominee)
Black Dogs by Ian McEwan (Nominee)
Such A Long Journey by Rohinton Mistry (Nominee)
Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood (Nominee)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Nominee)
An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (Nominee)
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard (Nominee)
Shame by Salman Rushdie (Nominee)
A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul (Nominee)
The Driver’s Seat by Muriel Spark (Nominee)
Fire from Heaven by Mary Renualt (Nominee)
Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen (Nominee)
Master and Commander by Patrick O’Brien (Nominee)
Labyrinth of the Mind 