I rank the three I've worked through so far in this order:
Western Lane - Chetna Maroo - 5 stars (shortlist)
Old God's Time - Sebastian Barry - 4 stars (longlist)
A Spell of Good Things - Ayóbàmi Adébáyò - DNF (longlist)
The Bee Sting (shortlist) is over 640 pages long and not eligible for an extended check-out period, so I'm going to have to hustle on this one. But it's been tipped by many book people as the most likely winner of this year's prize and it has become the odds on favorite, so I'm really looking forward to it. The plot focuses on an Irish family that, despite all outward appearances, is on very shaky grounds now that the economy has taken a downturn and the car dealer patriarch starts to doubt that he should still be selling gasoline-driven cars.
If I Survive You also made the shortlist, but do keep in mind that I'm not limiting myself to only the shortlisted books, so half the books nominated have already been eliminated from the competition. If I Survive You is a series of connected stories about a Jamaican family that relocates to Miami in order to start new lives for everyone. Of course, it's not going to be that easy.
The fifty thousand pound winner will be announced in the U.K. on November 26.
The Bee Sting is the novel I'd most like to read of this bunch... had not heard it's the odds on favorite! Every year I think about trying to read the nominees for one of the prizes, but never seem to be able to get to them all.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine reading all of them this year, much less before the winner is announced, but the Booker always provides novels and short story collections I would most likely have otherwise missed so I pay attention to it. Everything I hear about The Bee Sting's chances lead me to believe it will be considered an upset if something else wins. Can't wait to find out if the prediction turns out to be correct.
DeleteAt least two of the books on this year's list don't seem to be available in my library system, but I'm still hoping they turn up at some point because I've requested that both be purchased by the system.
Wow Western Lane 5 stars. I might need to check that out. And it has squash in it too right? It seems the Booker podcast loved The Bee Sting. But right now it's too long for me. I'm wondering is it a constantly bleak story or does it have some humor to it? hmm. I know it's a family story.
ReplyDeleteWestern Lane is kind of deceiving. At first I wondered "why squash?" but then it started to become more obvious that the way the narrator trained for competition was exactly the mindset that she and her family used to grieve their shared loss. My appreciating for Maroo's writing kept growing all the way to the last page.
DeleteI'm about 170 pages into The Bee Sting now - and it's been pretty bleak almost from the start with no let-up in sight yet. It is though divided into distinct sections. The first two had different narrators and I suspect that this third section I'm about to begin will not only have a different narrator than the other, but will even be set in a different time. But bleakness seems to be the theme of this family's existence.
I'm full of awe at your determination here, Sam. Shame The Bee Sting is bleak. I've a lot going on family-wise still so bleak is not my bag at the moment. Look forward to your review though.
ReplyDeleteNow 335 pages in, Cath, and "bleak" is the word. But fascinating to watch this family fight its hidden battles. I tried to read a lot these last couple of days because we head out for Dallas in the morning and won't be back until Sunday night. No reading time this weekend.
DeleteHappy reading!
ReplyDeleteJust telling Cath that we're off to Dallas in the morning for a full weekend up there starting with a surprise engagement luncheon for my granddaughter who has no idea the whole family is coming up to celebrate the news with her - you can tell there is zero chance she will ever read this blog... :-)
DeleteI put Western Lane on reserve at the library - thank you, I was on the fence previously. I hadn't heard of The Bee Sting. I don't object to very long books but they can be a nuisance if from the library or it happens to be a very busy week! I have sometimes had to read the last 50 pages in the library parking lot, reluctantly getting ready to return it. This week, quite a few of my holds arrived at once but Thanksgiving is coming with more time to read.
ReplyDeleteHa...I've done the same thing in my library's parking lot rather than be even one day late on my return if I know it's on hold for others in a hurry to get it. The Bee Sting is really interestingly constructed. It's about a failing family of four and has long sections narrated in the first person by each of them. The sections often cover the same ground, so the different POVs are interesting. But I hate feeling so rushed to get through it.
DeleteI hope you enjoy Western Lane as much as I did. It's pretty bleak, too, but there is a good message about grief and how it works so differently for each of us.
Speaking of holds...I hit the hold list hard in July, August, and September...and all of a sudden they are all coming in at the same time despite a great difference in popularity of the books. I have four more to pick up by Wednesday and each of them is something I've been looking forward to reading for weeks. I mention that happening a lot because for me it's the rule, not the exception.
If I Survive You sounds very good to me because I enjoy connected stories about the same group of people. I will have to look out for that. I hadn't heard of it until I read your posts here that cover it.
ReplyDeleteI've only read the first story so far, but it is really good. I like the way that it explored assimilation through the eyes of the youngest brother in this family of four Jamaicans living in Miami. The youngest was born in the US, but his physical coloration and lack of an accent make him strange to the Jamaican community he came from and his odd social habits make him equally strange to fellow students in Miami schools. He's not "black enough" to be accepted by blacks, to dark to be accepted fully by whites, and doesn't speak Spanish so the group he physically resembles the most won't accept him either.
Delete