I love your conparisons. I have only read Klara and The Sun and A Town Called Solace and loved both. Though I will go for bat saying that I think Solace is much more profound than I think is noticeable on first thought. Specifically about trauma in childhood, how mental health goes unacknowledged, the silent pain of infertility and the ignored humanity of the elderly.
Thank you! Yeah, I get the feeling that A Town Called Solace will be excellent to reread as having just read it recently I was gripped more by the plot than the issues at stake - though I really see how those aspects you mention are meaningfully dramatised and represented.
@@EricKarlAnderson I agree, there is a more going on in A Town Called Solace than the plot reveals. It is definitely a novel for writer's to close read. I'm not surprised it took six years to complete, I listened to her speak about the iterations it went through and the end result reveals that care and attention.
I've "only" read 7 of the longlisted books and am looking forward to the others. The Promise is far and away my favorite, it was just so well-done on all counts (the writing! the themes!). Thanks for the link to Black South African authors -- totally agree about the weirdness of having only White South African authors writing about racism ending up on the longlist.
I'm glad you found The Promise such a powerful book. Yeah, the fact is that not that many Black South African writers are published in the UK - hence there are so few on the list. And I meant to mention that from that Book Riot article it's really difficult to get ahold copies of some of the books they suggest. I was able to order two online (couldn't find them in shops) and one book they suggest (which I didn't buy) was over £500! So it's really difficult to access these writers' work which obviously raises a much bigger issue to do with publishing.
Great Circle!!!! I can’t put it down! What a treat it is. Also reading Light Perpetual, which I’m really enjoying and The Promise on Audiobook. Haven’t really got into The Promise yet. I keep stopping and starting. Klara and the Sun was incredible. Just like everything Kazuo Ishiguro writes ♥️ I hope to see Great Circle and Klara on the shortlist 😁
Love your comparisons! I really want to read Bewilderment, China Room and the Lawson novel. I adored Great Circle so so much. My shortlist prediction goes- Bewilderment, Great Circle, Sweetness of Water (read and enjoyed and in hindsight i think your comments about too structured are fair), klara (also enjoyed!) And i have a feeling the island and a passage north might also make it. Neither i have read but they seem very Bookery haha. I am intrigued to read the island however. And much like you, i felt Light Perpetual was such a great premise but i too felt let down by the execution of it. HAPPY BOOKERING- i do adore your videos xx
definitely haven’t read most of the books on the longlist, so i’m putting all my shortlist wishes behind the fortune men. it’s such an excellent novel i want as many people to read it as possible. i enjoyed hearing all your thoughts and the comparisons! (and i think i will be calling klara and the sun a sci-fi just to make some people angry now)
I only have Richard Powers left to read but the others I mostly enjoyed. Great Circle was my fave and Light Perpetual my least favourite, but yes a good longlist !! Looking forward to seeing what makes the shortlist!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us , it was interesting seeing the connections between the books xx
Ah your mind! Loved the parallels! I've only read Second Place and did like it a lot, but then was unable to compare it to any others because my exams came up. They are over in a week though so I'm looking forward to read more of the rest very soon! Great reviews.
Very interesting thoughts, thank you Eric! Is still have The Promise and An Island to read, hopefully before the announcement! I’ll start first with An Island.
I’m about half way through Great Circle and I’m loving it. I have Second Place on the pile for the month bc my friend Naomi loved it. I’m curious to see where I fall. Klara and the Sun was amazing!!!!
I like how your hair's doing some kind of flippy thing in the front. I have only read Klara and the Sun which I read because you talked about it so much.
Ouch. The Sweetness of Water bundled with the Cusk and Lockwood books at the bottom? Yikes. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m hoping to like it more than that. I found your exploration of common themes fascinating. Really well done, Eric!
I hope you like it more than I did too. I mean, it's probably useful to modify your expectations after the hype of it being on not only the Booker list but an Oprah bookclub choice and on Obama's summer reading list. I'd love to hear what you think when you get a chance to read it. And thank you! 📚
Yesss, I love this so much! Totally agree with what you said about the themes- I’d missed the connection between Light Perpetual and China Room- that was fascinating! I *love* what you said about people knocking the longlist when it came out, and wanting to ask ‘well, have you read it?’- there are a good few new favourites from this list that I would probably never have come across if it wasn’t for this longlist, so I’m grateful in some ways that some of my initial predictions didn’t make it! (Also, my copy of Evening Primrose has now arrived at the library, so I’m really excited to check it out! Thanks for the recommendation again!) I love your shortlist- I would be very happy if that were the real one, although it is a shame that most of the big hitters in the list this year are by male authors. But some really strong books this year, and I’m very excited to see what happens! Now to wait until the 14th!
Totally, I mean I understand people reacting to a longlist feeling disappointed a new book they've loved reading hasn't made the list but I don't see that as cause for dismissing the books which *are* listed. Also, like you said, the judges read something like 160 books and put so much time and effort into making these choices which deserves a little more credit than being instantly dismissed. It's something about the public reception of book prizes which used to make me fume but I've grown to just roll my eyes at. 😂 And, like you say, it should be an opportunity to give a try to some books you might not have got to otherwise and it can lead to some new favourite reads. I'm so glad you got a copy of Evening Primrose. Hope you enjoy it!
I'm loving this longlist and have four so far. Just started An Island and am blown away by the writing. I'd love it to be shortlisted, but seems a long shot... You never know.
Being in lockdown and the library being closed has, sort of, stalled me on reading all the booker longlist. I've only read 2 and currently listening to one on audiobook. All have been really good so far. The Sweetness of Water is beautiful to listen too (current audiobook). A Town Called Solace was a beautiful gentle reading experience and No One is Talking about this, is a very differently constructed book, that I'd like to read again and pick up more from the first section of the book. I do have 3 more on my physical TBR and hope to get to them soon.
I haven’t read any of the list although there are several I’m interested in but I always like to hear other peoples thoughts and predictions so thank you for going through them Eric and letting us know what you think!
I gate crashed my first reading of "Middlesex," because I wanted to savor it a little, with "China Room" and "At Night All Blood Is Black." It's been a good combination, but now I've finished Middlesex, I'm glad I'm now reading "Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem" by Peter Ackroyd, which I'm loving. Now I'm looking at your other Booker favourites to see where I may go next.
I thought Light Perpetual was brilliant and easily my favourite of the six I've read, but I would also love to see Bewilderment and China Room on the shortlist.
Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on all of these especially looking at them as a group and drawing parallels between the books. Looking forward to seeing the shortlist announced! ☺
I've read 10 out of the 13 and while last year I knew exactly which were my top three this year it is much murkier. My list is close to yours, I have China Room on the threshold maybe just tipping out of the top 6 and have Sweetness of Water in instead, but as I said there are 3 I haven't yet read and I'm interested to read An Island so perhaps my top 6 will change. I put Bewilderment in the top 6 even though I haven't read it.
I’ve read quite a few on the list so far. Unpopular opinion alert: I didn’t finish Great Circle, I found it really tedious at the beginning. Disliked No One Is Talking About This, and Second Place. Was indifferent to The Sweetness of Water and The Fortune Men. Haven’t read Bewilderment, A Passage North, An Island or Light Perpetual yet. Loved Klara and the Sun, and The Promise. My absolute favourites so far though are A Town Called Solace and China Room
Your pairings were very interesting! I always enjoy hearing your perspective on prizes. I'm slowly getting through the longlist 😁 And thanks for sharing Evening Primrose, it sounds really good!
I've read all but An Island, very slow covid book mail in Australia. I mostly agree with you, I'd swap China Room and No One Is Talking About This, but they're two love it or hate it novels, and I might try and find a spot for A Town Called Solace, I like a non-Booker book making the shortlist, keep everybody on their toes.
Wow! What a deep, perceptive analysis and summery! In an ideal world, the best novel: the best written with the best story will win of course. But in the world we live in, the most deserving novel does not always win. A dark horse, the most unexpected, might just come from behind and win the race. I predict that Sunjeev Sahota's China Room will do just that: come from behind and win the race based on the strength of its elegant, lyrical prose and its captivating story. What happened in North India seventy years ago in this novel still happens in Rajasthan in modern day India. Women still cover their faces , especially in the presence of men and strangers. What a novel ! After you finish reading it, the characters still reside in your mind, and do not let you go. They will haunt you like a ghost. Also, there is a small chance that the judges might just reward Kazuo Ishiguro with the prize because he is a Nobel Laureate. I immensely enjoyed your review, however. Thank you very much for uploading this video. Yesh Prabhu, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Thanks so much! 😊 Yes, though it's difficult to say if any novel is really "deserving" over another. There's no exact science to determine what is really the "best" book which is why I think book prizes are just a good fun source of debate. And you could very well be right and I'd love to see China Room move to the front. I completely agree with your description of its power.
I have read the whole longlist except for The Fortune Men, so I can’t speak to that one (although many people seem to expect to see it on the shortlist). I would be very surprised if Bewilderment and The Promise were not on the shortlist and although I share your views on the Cusk (and really wish Transcendent Kingdom and Assembly had been longlisted), I think Second Place will be shortlisted. We’ll see on the 14th! Looking forward to the Women’s Prize in the meantime.
That's great! 📚 Yes, if Transcendent Kingdom and Assembly had been listed for the Booker I'd be strongly advocating that they should be on the shortlist. Ooooh, if Second Place makes the shortlist I will be fuming. 😅
I've only read 4 books from the longlist so far and I agree with your selections, I particularly loved Klara and the Sun but I'm surprised by so many negative reviews about that book. I personally loved it, it is my first 5 stars book of the year!
Yeah, I've found the negative reaction to Ishiguro's new novel perplexing too and wonder if it's a result of an author who is so lauded feeling fair game for a take down. Anyway, I'm glad you loved it too. 😊
@@EricKarlAnderson I think you're right! Maybe he wrote this book in purpose to see people's reaction? ;) Apart from Klara and the Sun I've only read 2 of his books and it was some time ago so I'm not sure how this novel is different from his previous ones...but so many famous authors often write in the same pattern because they're scared the will loose readers if they move away from their style so I'm glad he's not scared to experiment.
Interesting your comment and observation about the Black South African writer's perspective. One woman writer not on the Book Riot list, but whom I highly recommend is Sindiwe Magona. She has written two memoirs and I really hope she is working on a third: To My Children's Children (1990) and Forced To Grow (1992) “Until the lioness can tell its own story the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” African Proverb The only book I've read from the long list is Mary Lawson's A Town Called Solace, which I thought was really interesting, the way it's the anti-hero story and the literary devices she uses to explore boundaries and trust. I think there is way more going on than appears at a surface read. As I read, I kept having little epiphanies as those layers revealed themselves, so I ended up writing a gushing review, especially as so many of the reviews I've seen, seem to have read it superficially, not understanding why it was even listed. It also had me laughing out loud on occasion, a rare feat for literary fiction. Bewilderment and The Promise are the most tempting to me from your predicted shortlist, I look forward to seeing who will be on the list! Thanks for your continued championing of great books Eric.
The Promise is my easy favorite and I'm glad to see it made the short list. Klara and the Sun was clever but more ingenious than aesthetically satisfying. I haven't been able to read The Fortune Men yet or Bewilderment. No One is Talking About This was vacuous and Rachel Cusk doesn't move me deeply.📚📖📃
Interesting list! Totally agree with you about Rachel Cusk's book... all about a woman who practically forces a guest to stay with her and her family and then moans throughout the whole book that he's not paying her enough attention. I am reading A Passage North and am absolutely loving it... a trip that is not only real but is also based on the poems of Sri Lanka. I loved those parts, but as I said I haven't finished it yet. Klara is a story about a doll, Promise is very interesting until it gets to the end. Great Circle is still my favourite to win. China Room is also good but not great. Will see how many more I can read till next week. Thanks so much for your thoughts!
I know some people found Cusk's book funny or moving but that protagonist really tested my patience. I'm so glad you're loving A Passage North. I just longed for a bit more about the grandmother and her carer over him smoking and looking into the distance while meditating on *big subjects* 📚📚📚
Great longlist wrap up review. I've read eight of these fully and extracts from all the others. As it happens we have very similar shortlists with 5 books in common ... The Promise, Bewilderment, The Fortune Men, China Room, and Great Circle. I have Klara and the Sun as my number 7. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but as an Ishiguro fan felt it wasn't his best work. I would be delighted to see it make the shortlist nevertheless as it may well do either on merit or if the judges are feeling the pull of a big name. I have A Passage North as my number 6. It's not altogether successful and I can understand why some others have found it a little bit of a frustrating read. But I have been seduced by its insightful, exquisite and meditative nature. To your point about the start of Light Perpetual and China room having a self-conscious discussion about time, so does A Passage North in which time is a recurring theme. I also agree that Second Place brings up the rear.
Fab! I'm glad we almost entirely agree. Yes, it's true about time in A Passage North. I guess I didn't mention it because the movement backwards and forwards in time is done in a more deliberate one chapter in the past, one chapter in the present fashion in the two novels I mention.
loved the vid as usual, very curious to see the shortlist, given how the longlist caught most people by surprise, im expecting a few upsets with the shortlist as well! :-D
I’ve only read 5, but I know which one I want to win. Great Circle is the best book I’ve read in years. I loved it 😍 and want it to win 🏆 ( P.S. I hated Second Place) ☘️👋📖☕️🫖📕🐝🍀📚💐
I just finished reading The Promise and liked it but I wonder what were Amor's thoughts while she was away and would the promise be fulfilled much sooner should she have stayed back?
I think Amor probably realised that her insistence on the promise being fulfilled was futile because her family would have always found excuses to delay it. Her leaving seemed to be an act of survival to me.
I've read eight of the books; I'd name my top three as 1) Lawson; 2) Ishiguro; 3)Galgut edging out Aradpragasam, but none of them seemed "great". I disliked Cusk and Lockwood; Shipstead was too long and seemed rushed at the end. None nearly as good as last year's winner, Shuggie Bain, which was fantastic.
I love your conparisons. I have only read Klara and The Sun and A Town Called Solace and loved both. Though I will go for bat saying that I think Solace is much more profound than I think is noticeable on first thought. Specifically about trauma in childhood, how mental health goes unacknowledged, the silent pain of infertility and the ignored humanity of the elderly.
Thank you! Yeah, I get the feeling that A Town Called Solace will be excellent to reread as having just read it recently I was gripped more by the plot than the issues at stake - though I really see how those aspects you mention are meaningfully dramatised and represented.
@@EricKarlAnderson I agree, there is a more going on in A Town Called Solace than the plot reveals. It is definitely a novel for writer's to close read. I'm not surprised it took six years to complete, I listened to her speak about the iterations it went through and the end result reveals that care and attention.
I've "only" read 7 of the longlisted books and am looking forward to the others. The Promise is far and away my favorite, it was just so well-done on all counts (the writing! the themes!). Thanks for the link to Black South African authors -- totally agree about the weirdness of having only White South African authors writing about racism ending up on the longlist.
I'm glad you found The Promise such a powerful book. Yeah, the fact is that not that many Black South African writers are published in the UK - hence there are so few on the list. And I meant to mention that from that Book Riot article it's really difficult to get ahold copies of some of the books they suggest. I was able to order two online (couldn't find them in shops) and one book they suggest (which I didn't buy) was over £500! So it's really difficult to access these writers' work which obviously raises a much bigger issue to do with publishing.
Great Circle!!!! I can’t put it down! What a treat it is. Also reading Light Perpetual, which I’m really enjoying and The Promise on Audiobook. Haven’t really got into The Promise yet. I keep stopping and starting. Klara and the Sun was incredible. Just like everything Kazuo Ishiguro writes ♥️ I hope to see Great Circle and Klara on the shortlist 😁
Love your comparisons! I really want to read Bewilderment, China Room and the Lawson novel. I adored Great Circle so so much. My shortlist prediction goes- Bewilderment, Great Circle, Sweetness of Water (read and enjoyed and in hindsight i think your comments about too structured are fair), klara (also enjoyed!) And i have a feeling the island and a passage north might also make it. Neither i have read but they seem very Bookery haha. I am intrigued to read the island however. And much like you, i felt Light Perpetual was such a great premise but i too felt let down by the execution of it. HAPPY BOOKERING- i do adore your videos xx
definitely haven’t read most of the books on the longlist, so i’m putting all my shortlist wishes behind the fortune men. it’s such an excellent novel i want as many people to read it as possible. i enjoyed hearing all your thoughts and the comparisons! (and i think i will be calling klara and the sun a sci-fi just to make some people angry now)
I only have Richard Powers left to read but the others I mostly enjoyed. Great Circle was my fave and Light Perpetual my least favourite, but yes a good longlist !! Looking forward to seeing what makes the shortlist!! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us , it was interesting seeing the connections between the books xx
Thanks! I'm so excited for you to read Bewilderment! 🤗📚
Ah your mind! Loved the parallels!
I've only read Second Place and did like it a lot, but then was unable to compare it to any others because my exams came up. They are over in a week though so I'm looking forward to read more of the rest very soon! Great reviews.
Thank you! 😊 Good luck with your exams!
Very interesting thoughts, thank you Eric! Is still have The Promise and An Island to read, hopefully before the announcement! I’ll start first with An Island.
I’m about half way through Great Circle and I’m loving it. I have Second Place on the pile for the month bc my friend Naomi loved it. I’m curious to see where I fall. Klara and the Sun was amazing!!!!
I like how your hair's doing some kind of flippy thing in the front. I have only read Klara and the Sun which I read because you talked about it so much.
Ouch. The Sweetness of Water bundled with the Cusk and Lockwood books at the bottom? Yikes. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m hoping to like it more than that.
I found your exploration of common themes fascinating. Really well done, Eric!
I hope you like it more than I did too. I mean, it's probably useful to modify your expectations after the hype of it being on not only the Booker list but an Oprah bookclub choice and on Obama's summer reading list. I'd love to hear what you think when you get a chance to read it.
And thank you! 📚
Yesss, I love this so much! Totally agree with what you said about the themes- I’d missed the connection between Light Perpetual and China Room- that was fascinating!
I *love* what you said about people knocking the longlist when it came out, and wanting to ask ‘well, have you read it?’- there are a good few new favourites from this list that I would probably never have come across if it wasn’t for this longlist, so I’m grateful in some ways that some of my initial predictions didn’t make it!
(Also, my copy of Evening Primrose has now arrived at the library, so I’m really excited to check it out! Thanks for the recommendation again!)
I love your shortlist- I would be very happy if that were the real one, although it is a shame that most of the big hitters in the list this year are by male authors. But some really strong books this year, and I’m very excited to see what happens! Now to wait until the 14th!
Totally, I mean I understand people reacting to a longlist feeling disappointed a new book they've loved reading hasn't made the list but I don't see that as cause for dismissing the books which *are* listed. Also, like you said, the judges read something like 160 books and put so much time and effort into making these choices which deserves a little more credit than being instantly dismissed. It's something about the public reception of book prizes which used to make me fume but I've grown to just roll my eyes at. 😂 And, like you say, it should be an opportunity to give a try to some books you might not have got to otherwise and it can lead to some new favourite reads.
I'm so glad you got a copy of Evening Primrose. Hope you enjoy it!
@@EricKarlAnderson exactly! All of this- so well-put!
And yes! So excited for Evening Primrose! Thanks again!
I'm loving this longlist and have four so far. Just started An Island and am blown away by the writing. I'd love it to be shortlisted, but seems a long shot... You never know.
Being in lockdown and the library being closed has, sort of, stalled me on reading all the booker longlist. I've only read 2 and currently listening to one on audiobook. All have been really good so far. The Sweetness of Water is beautiful to listen too (current audiobook). A Town Called Solace was a beautiful gentle reading experience and No One is Talking about this, is a very differently constructed book, that I'd like to read again and pick up more from the first section of the book. I do have 3 more on my physical TBR and hope to get to them soon.
I haven’t read any of the list although there are several I’m interested in but I always like to hear other peoples thoughts and predictions so thank you for going through them Eric and letting us know what you think!
Thanks Jo! 🤗📚
Just looked Evening Primrose up and it sounds really interesting! Thanks for mentioning 😊
Glad I could tip you off to it!
I gate crashed my first reading of "Middlesex," because I wanted to savor it a little, with "China Room" and "At Night All Blood Is Black." It's been a good combination, but now I've finished Middlesex, I'm glad I'm now reading "Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem" by Peter Ackroyd, which I'm loving. Now I'm looking at your other Booker favourites to see where I may go next.
I thought Light Perpetual was brilliant and easily my favourite of the six I've read, but I would also love to see Bewilderment and China Room on the shortlist.
Oh great, glad you connected with Spufford’s novel so strongly.
Really enjoyed hearing your thoughts on all of these especially looking at them as a group and drawing parallels between the books. Looking forward to seeing the shortlist announced! ☺
I've read 10 out of the 13 and while last year I knew exactly which were my top three this year it is much murkier. My list is close to yours, I have China Room on the threshold maybe just tipping out of the top 6 and have Sweetness of Water in instead, but as I said there are 3 I haven't yet read and I'm interested to read An Island so perhaps my top 6 will change. I put Bewilderment in the top 6 even though I haven't read it.
Yes, definitely difficult to tell what the judges will go with this year
Read Ishiguro and Galgut. Really enjoyed both of them . Currently reading No One Is Talking About This - so far, it is not working for me
Fab! Yeah, even the first section of Lockwood's novel was very hit and miss for me.
I’ve read quite a few on the list so far. Unpopular opinion alert: I didn’t finish Great Circle, I found it really tedious at the beginning. Disliked No One Is Talking About This, and Second Place. Was indifferent to The Sweetness of Water and The Fortune Men. Haven’t read Bewilderment, A Passage North, An Island or Light Perpetual yet. Loved Klara and the Sun, and The Promise. My absolute favourites so far though are A Town Called Solace and China Room
I am making my way through the 13 novels. I loved "A Town Called Solace" and "The Promise."
Great! Hope you find some more favourites.
Your pairings were very interesting! I always enjoy hearing your perspective on prizes. I'm slowly getting through the longlist 😁
And thanks for sharing Evening Primrose, it sounds really good!
Fab! 📚 I hope you're enjoying the literary journey.
I've read all but An Island, very slow covid book mail in Australia.
I mostly agree with you, I'd swap China Room and No One Is Talking About This, but they're two love it or hate it novels, and I might try and find a spot for A Town Called Solace, I like a non-Booker book making the shortlist, keep everybody on their toes.
I've been reading loads but only one from the Long Lists (Ishiguro). Im dying to read Bewilderment since I saw your review.
Fab! Always so much to read! 📚📚📚
Great video! Very insightful. You and Bob the Bookerer’s breakdown of the titles I’d most like to get my hands on.
Thanks so much! I've loved Bob's in-depth reviews of the books. 📚
Wow! What a deep, perceptive analysis and summery! In an ideal world, the best novel: the best written with the best story will win of course. But in the world we live in, the most deserving novel does not always win. A dark horse, the most unexpected, might just come from behind and win the race. I predict that Sunjeev Sahota's China Room will do just that: come from behind and win the race based on the strength of its elegant, lyrical prose and its captivating story. What happened in North India seventy years ago in this novel still happens in Rajasthan in modern day India. Women still cover their faces , especially in the presence of men and strangers. What a novel ! After you finish reading it, the characters still reside in your mind, and do not let you go. They will haunt you like a ghost. Also, there is a small chance that the judges might just reward Kazuo Ishiguro with the prize because he is a Nobel Laureate. I immensely enjoyed your review, however. Thank you very much for uploading this video.
Yesh Prabhu, Bushkill, Pennsylvania
Thanks so much! 😊 Yes, though it's difficult to say if any novel is really "deserving" over another. There's no exact science to determine what is really the "best" book which is why I think book prizes are just a good fun source of debate. And you could very well be right and I'd love to see China Room move to the front. I completely agree with your description of its power.
I haven’t read any of the long list yet! Impressive that you are through them all! Excited to see how your predictions do!!
Thanks!
I have read the whole longlist except for The Fortune Men, so I can’t speak to that one (although many people seem to expect to see it on the shortlist). I would be very surprised if Bewilderment and The Promise were not on the shortlist and although I share your views on the Cusk (and really wish Transcendent Kingdom and Assembly had been longlisted), I think Second Place will be shortlisted. We’ll see on the 14th! Looking forward to the Women’s Prize in the meantime.
That's great! 📚 Yes, if Transcendent Kingdom and Assembly had been listed for the Booker I'd be strongly advocating that they should be on the shortlist. Ooooh, if Second Place makes the shortlist I will be fuming. 😅
@@EricKarlAnderson There is definitely something grating about Cusk’s work!
I've only read 4 books from the longlist so far and I agree with your selections, I particularly loved Klara and the Sun but I'm surprised by so many negative reviews about that book. I personally loved it, it is my first 5 stars book of the year!
Yeah, I've found the negative reaction to Ishiguro's new novel perplexing too and wonder if it's a result of an author who is so lauded feeling fair game for a take down. Anyway, I'm glad you loved it too. 😊
@@EricKarlAnderson I think you're right! Maybe he wrote this book in purpose to see people's reaction? ;) Apart from Klara and the Sun I've only read 2 of his books and it was some time ago so I'm not sure how this novel is different from his previous ones...but so many famous authors often write in the same pattern because they're scared the will loose readers if they move away from their style so I'm glad he's not scared to experiment.
Thank you for the Black South African authors list.
Some readers have kindly been suggesting more authors in the comments as well.
Interesting your comment and observation about the Black South African writer's perspective. One woman writer not on the Book Riot list, but whom I highly recommend is Sindiwe Magona.
She has written two memoirs and I really hope she is working on a third:
To My Children's Children (1990) and Forced To Grow (1992)
“Until the lioness can tell its own story the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”
African Proverb
The only book I've read from the long list is Mary Lawson's A Town Called Solace, which I thought was really interesting, the way it's the anti-hero story and the literary devices she uses to explore boundaries and trust. I think there is way more going on than appears at a surface read. As I read, I kept having little epiphanies as those layers revealed themselves, so I ended up writing a gushing review, especially as so many of the reviews I've seen, seem to have read it superficially, not understanding why it was even listed. It also had me laughing out loud on occasion, a rare feat for literary fiction.
Bewilderment and The Promise are the most tempting to me from your predicted shortlist, I look forward to seeing who will be on the list! Thanks for your continued championing of great books Eric.
I loved Sweetness of Water, Klara and the Sun & China Room. I absolutely loathed the Rachel Cusk.
👍📚
The Promise is my easy favorite and I'm glad to see it made the short list. Klara and the Sun was clever but more ingenious than aesthetically satisfying. I haven't been able to read The Fortune Men yet or Bewilderment. No One is Talking About This was vacuous and Rachel Cusk doesn't move me deeply.📚📖📃
Hope you get to read The Fortune Men and Bewilderment!
I love this site which I have just discovered and plan to revisit frequently.
My prediction: An Island/A Passage North, Bewilderment, The Promise, The Fortune Men, China Room & Great Circle. To win: The Promise or Great Circle.
5 of those are on the list!
Interesting list! Totally agree with you about Rachel Cusk's book... all about a woman who practically forces a guest to stay with her and her family and then moans throughout the whole book that he's not paying her enough attention. I am reading A Passage North and am absolutely loving it... a trip that is not only real but is also based on the poems of Sri Lanka. I loved those parts, but as I said I haven't finished it yet. Klara is a story about a doll, Promise is very interesting until it gets to the end. Great Circle is still my favourite to win. China Room is also good but not great. Will see how many more I can read till next week. Thanks so much for your thoughts!
I know some people found Cusk's book funny or moving but that protagonist really tested my patience. I'm so glad you're loving A Passage North. I just longed for a bit more about the grandmother and her carer over him smoking and looking into the distance while meditating on *big subjects*
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Great longlist wrap up review. I've read eight of these fully and extracts from all the others. As it happens we have very similar shortlists with 5 books in common ... The Promise, Bewilderment, The Fortune Men, China Room, and Great Circle. I have Klara and the Sun as my number 7. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but as an Ishiguro fan felt it wasn't his best work. I would be delighted to see it make the shortlist nevertheless as it may well do either on merit or if the judges are feeling the pull of a big name. I have A Passage North as my number 6. It's not altogether successful and I can understand why some others have found it a little bit of a frustrating read. But I have been seduced by its insightful, exquisite and meditative nature. To your point about the start of Light Perpetual and China room having a self-conscious discussion about time, so does A Passage North in which time is a recurring theme. I also agree that Second Place brings up the rear.
Fab! I'm glad we almost entirely agree. Yes, it's true about time in A Passage North. I guess I didn't mention it because the movement backwards and forwards in time is done in a more deliberate one chapter in the past, one chapter in the present fashion in the two novels I mention.
Love your channel.
I think either Bewilderment or The Promise will win it all.
I think you could be right - though I feel Sahota has a strong chance too.
I think you should've made a separate video for the 'round up'. We didn't see the prediction list until more than half of the video.
loved the vid as usual, very curious to see the shortlist, given how the longlist caught most people by surprise, im expecting a few upsets with the shortlist as well! :-D
Thanks! 😊 And I'm sure you're right. Stay tuned to see me tearing books apart with my teeth after the shortlist announcement. 😂
@@EricKarlAnderson haha I'm expecting major drama when Lockwood wins both the booker and the women's prize lol
@@LarryHasOpinions Omg, don't even! If that happens I will be sulking in the corner. 😡😂😅
Ooh, sexier tan usual. Must be the darker lighting.
Thank you for this video!!!
Excellent as always.
That was great, thank you Eric!
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You got 4 of them right 👍
I’ve only read 5, but I know which one I want to win. Great Circle is the best book I’ve read in years. I loved it 😍 and want it to win 🏆 ( P.S. I hated Second Place)
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I miss your videos Jacqueline, where did you go???
Yay! (on both those opinions 😄) 📚
I just finished reading The Promise and liked it but I wonder what were Amor's thoughts while she was away and would the promise be fulfilled much sooner should she have stayed back?
I think Amor probably realised that her insistence on the promise being fulfilled was futile because her family would have always found excuses to delay it. Her leaving seemed to be an act of survival to me.
@@EricKarlAnderson Guess you are right.... Hope it makes it to the shortlist.
I've read eight of the books; I'd name my top three as 1) Lawson; 2) Ishiguro; 3)Galgut edging out Aradpragasam, but none of them seemed "great". I disliked Cusk and Lockwood; Shipstead was too long and seemed rushed at the end. None nearly as good as last year's winner, Shuggie Bain, which was fantastic.
Ahhh, interesting! 📚
Light Perpetual or bust. Also got £20 on it, so it better make it through 😂
😄 Is there somewhere to actually place a bet on the Booker winner? Last time I looked I couldn't find one.
"Last Place", LOL 😁
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