It’s down to the final six. You could, of course, wait to find out who wins the Man Booker Prize this year and read that one book. Or, you could consider all six, since they’re all probably as good as one another according to the judges.
The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma
This one is almost a surprise, which makes it a dark horse of sorts. Although, of course, being one of six instead of one of 13 makes a win much more likely. A story of four brothers in 1990s Nigeria told with empathy and great introspection, it centres around a prophecy made by a mad man: that the eldest brother will be killed by one of his siblings.
The prose is stark, raw and evokes some memory of the classics you might have read as a child, teenager or adult. It has almost a mythical or fable-like storytelling to it, and to me that was the most captivating aspect.
Born in Nigeria, the 29-year-old Obioma belongs to a family of 12 children. He has seven brothers and four sisters. The Fishermen is his first novel, written in part as a tribute to his siblings.
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihar
This is my personal favourite on the list. It’s a story of four friends, one of whom has a secret that will lead the others to question their friendship and lives. Not everything is what it seems, and the book, through its plot and characters, visits dark places of human nature like few recent novels have done. It is difficult to ignore or not be affected by Yanagihara’s gut-wrenching writing.
A travel-writer, an editor, Yanighara has become something of a literary sensation already in the US.
A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
This one’s not a surprise. Tyler’s books usually delve into the American family and its dysfunctionalities. The new novel is in that sense a continuation of the trend, but with every book her skill is sharper, and she makes the reader see her worlds with whole new perspectives.
The Whitshanks radiate togetherness but, amidst all the happiness and joy, there are secrets waiting to tumble out of individual closets. A rare literary read in the sense of being a page-turner, the book is set over seven decades and is both a wide and deep examination of choices and consequences.
The Year of the Runaways, Sunjeev Sahota
This story of three Indian men and their lives in the UK is told with great compassion and empathy. They share a house, and have no idea what awaits them and how their lives will change suddenly and most interestingly. All three men have fled their homeland for different reasons, and the tensions of the immigrant experience are never far from the surface. Sahota knows how to make words come together, how to make the moment light and profound at the same time, and how to keep the plot and the characters well-balanced. My second favourite after A Little Life.
Sahota studied mathematics and worked in travel insurance before becoming a writer.
A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James
Breathtaking in scope, the novel careens through the attempted assassination of Bob Marley – referred to as “the singer” – in Jamaica in the late 1970s, its aftermath during the crack wars in New York in the 1980s, and the radically altered Jamaica in the 1990s. It is mindboggling in terms of the complexity of voice, with some 70 characters being represented, thus bringing multiple perspectives to the work.
Only three novels old, James is already considered one of the great Jamaican writers, with his previous novel, The Book of Night Women, often called the greatest Jamaican novel ever written.
Satin Island, Tom McCarthy
A book which is very hard to define. It is not easy to understand Satin Island, so much so that I had to pause after every couple of pages just to make sense of the story, with all its twists and turns. “U” has to write a report, an all-encompassing report that would sum up our era. That is the story in its most skeletal form. This book, a take-off on the kind of projects that big consultancies are involved in, ends up as a meditation on our lives and how we live it.
McCarthy is both a writer and an artist.
Over now to October 13 to find out who the winner is.
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The Fishermen, Chigozie Obioma
This one is almost a surprise, which makes it a dark horse of sorts. Although, of course, being one of six instead of one of 13 makes a win much more likely. A story of four brothers in 1990s Nigeria told with empathy and great introspection, it centres around a prophecy made by a mad man: that the eldest brother will be killed by one of his siblings.
The prose is stark, raw and evokes some memory of the classics you might have read as a child, teenager or adult. It has almost a mythical or fable-like storytelling to it, and to me that was the most captivating aspect.
Born in Nigeria, the 29-year-old Obioma belongs to a family of 12 children. He has seven brothers and four sisters. The Fishermen is his first novel, written in part as a tribute to his siblings.
A Little Life, Hanya Yanagihar
This is my personal favourite on the list. It’s a story of four friends, one of whom has a secret that will lead the others to question their friendship and lives. Not everything is what it seems, and the book, through its plot and characters, visits dark places of human nature like few recent novels have done. It is difficult to ignore or not be affected by Yanagihara’s gut-wrenching writing.
A travel-writer, an editor, Yanighara has become something of a literary sensation already in the US.
A Spool of Blue Thread, Anne Tyler
This one’s not a surprise. Tyler’s books usually delve into the American family and its dysfunctionalities. The new novel is in that sense a continuation of the trend, but with every book her skill is sharper, and she makes the reader see her worlds with whole new perspectives.
The Whitshanks radiate togetherness but, amidst all the happiness and joy, there are secrets waiting to tumble out of individual closets. A rare literary read in the sense of being a page-turner, the book is set over seven decades and is both a wide and deep examination of choices and consequences.
The Year of the Runaways, Sunjeev Sahota
This story of three Indian men and their lives in the UK is told with great compassion and empathy. They share a house, and have no idea what awaits them and how their lives will change suddenly and most interestingly. All three men have fled their homeland for different reasons, and the tensions of the immigrant experience are never far from the surface. Sahota knows how to make words come together, how to make the moment light and profound at the same time, and how to keep the plot and the characters well-balanced. My second favourite after A Little Life.
Sahota studied mathematics and worked in travel insurance before becoming a writer.
A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James
Breathtaking in scope, the novel careens through the attempted assassination of Bob Marley – referred to as “the singer” – in Jamaica in the late 1970s, its aftermath during the crack wars in New York in the 1980s, and the radically altered Jamaica in the 1990s. It is mindboggling in terms of the complexity of voice, with some 70 characters being represented, thus bringing multiple perspectives to the work.
Only three novels old, James is already considered one of the great Jamaican writers, with his previous novel, The Book of Night Women, often called the greatest Jamaican novel ever written.
Satin Island, Tom McCarthy
A book which is very hard to define. It is not easy to understand Satin Island, so much so that I had to pause after every couple of pages just to make sense of the story, with all its twists and turns. “U” has to write a report, an all-encompassing report that would sum up our era. That is the story in its most skeletal form. This book, a take-off on the kind of projects that big consultancies are involved in, ends up as a meditation on our lives and how we live it.
McCarthy is both a writer and an artist.
Over now to October 13 to find out who the winner is.