Reading All the Bookers!

  Booker Prize :    WINNER 1999 Plot Time and Place :   South Africa, late 1990's Opening sentence :   "For a man of his age, fifty-two, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well." Plot summary :  The story follows  David Lurie, a disgraced 52-year-old professor in post-apartheid Cape Town whose life collapses after an illicit affair with a student, leading him to confront profound personal and societal violence at his daughter's rural farm.  Review :   It's a sad story, in a bleak world, with depressed and depressing characters. I enjoyed the author's intelligent exploration of the following ideas:  South Africa's painful transition out of apartheid, historical guilt, racial tensions, remorse, guilt, shame, retribution, sex as power, sex as domination, the parallels between male violence against women and colonialism. However, the writing style didn't strike me as special, and I couldn't really relate to any of the...

  Booker Prize :    WINNER 2015 Plot Time and Place :   From 1976 to 1991, Kingston, Jamaica and New York City, USA. Opening sentence :     "Listen. But the dead never stop talking and sometimes the living hear." Plot summary : The novel spans several decades and explores the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in Jamaica in 1976 and its aftermath, through the crack wars in New York City in the 1980's, and a changed Jamaica in the 1990's. Review :   At first it was a slow burner. It seemed too long, and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking, with all the different narrators, times and places. Then it kind of grows on you and it is very realistic and hard, like something from Tarantino. No holds barred. Interesting to learn about the crooked politics, poverty in Jamaica, and the gang life.  Rating :  4/5

  Booker Prize :    WINNER 1998 Plot Time and Place :   90's, London, Lake District, Amsterdam Opening sentence :     "Two former lovers of Molly Lane stood waiting outside the crematorium chapel with their backs to the February chill." Plot summary :  Horrified by how their late friend Molly lost her mental independence before dying, Clive and Vernon make a suicide/ euthanasia pact. They vow that if either ever begins to lose their mental faculties, the other will arrange a legal mercy killing for them. Soon after, both men face crucial moral dilemmas that pit their professional ambitions against their ethics. Review :   I enjoyed the characters, the writer is really good at showing each character's inner lives and thoughts. The book is humorous and at the same time exploring some dark themes, like jealousy, moral dilemmas and revenge. Rating :  4/5

  Booker Prize :   Winner 1995 Plot Time and Place :   During World War I, in France, Britain and a remote island in Melanesia. Opening sentence :     "In deck-chairs all along the front the bald pink knees of Bradford businessmen nuzzled the sun." Plot summary :  Officer Billy Prior has recovered from shell shock and chooses to return to the Western Front in 1918. Army psychiatrist William Rivers remains in England treating severely traumatized men. He remembers his past anthropological fieldwork on Eddystone Island. Review :   I enjoyed the depiction of what it was like in the battlefield. The characters felt very real, like real people. However, I didn't really get what was the author's purpose in throwing the Eddystone Island part into the mix. I felt it didn't have anything to do with the rest of the story. Overall, a very human book against war. Rating :   3/5

Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 2019 Plot Time and Place :   Istanbul, present day. Opening sentence :   "Her name was Leila." Plot summary :  Leila has been murdered and lies in a dumpster, but the brain still works for 10 minutes after death, so she remembers scenes from her life and her friends. Review :  Great. This book is a sensitive and beautiful portrayal of life for women and girls in a conservative society; a love letter to the city of Istanbul; and an ode to friendship. Rating :  4/5

  Booker Prize : Shortlisted 2016 Plot Time and Place :  1960's, a small town in New England Opening sentence :   "I looked like a girl you'd expect to see on a city bus, reading some clothbound book from the library about plants or geography, perhaps wearing a net over my light brown hair." Plot summary :  Eileen Dunlop, an unassuming yet disturbed young woman, is trapped between her role as her alcoholic father's carer in his squalid home, and her job as a secretary at the boys' prison, filled with its own daily horrors. When the charismatic Rebecca Saint John arrives on the scene as the new counsellor at the prison, Eileen is enchanted and unable to resist a miraculously budding friendship. But this new affection is about to cost her dearly.  (from thebookerprizes.com) Review : I loved this. Eileen is a fascinating character, so flawed, unhappy, trapped in a miserable life. And I liked the noir atmosphere, the suspense, and the writing. I identified with Ei...

  Booker Prize:   WINNER 1979 Plot Time and Place :   Present day, on the Thames, London, England. Opening sentence :   ""Are we to gather that Dreadnought is asking us all to do something dishonest?" Richard asked." Plot summary : " The shortest novel to win the Booker Prize, Fitzgerald offers a delightful glimpse into the workings of the eccentric London community living on houseboats." (from thebookerprizes.com) Review :   I enjoyed the writing and the characters, it was a nice read. Rating :  3/5

  Booker Prize:   Shortlisted 1969 Plot Time and Place :   Rome in the 1960's Opening sentence :   "It was the middle of Friday morning". Plot summary :  This story is about a famous actress who worries a lot about her public image and people's perception of her. The men around her (her husband, her manager, her friend) all try to control her, but she fights back and regains some agency. Review : I enjoyed the feminist angle, but the story is just not that interesting.  Rating :  2/5

Booker Prize:   Shortlisted 2023 Plot Time and Place :   19th century, on an island off the coast of Maine, USA Opening sentence :   "Benjamin Honey - American, Bantu, Igbo - born enslaved - freed or fled at fifteen, only he ever knew - ship's carpenter, aspiring orchardist, arrived on the island with his wife, Patience, née Raferty, Galway girl, in 1793." Plot summary :  In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. More than a century later, the Honeys' descendants remain, with an eccentric, diverse band of neighbours. But one summer, a prejudiced missionary lands on the island's shores, disrupting the community's fragile balance with everlasting consequences. (Penguin edition) Review : i appreciated the lyricism of the writing. However, I didn't really relate to any of the characters, or the story, and I found the reading to be boring and slow. The ending of the story was ...

Booker Prize:   2020 Shortlisted Plot Time and Place :   In the near future, in the wild. Opening sentence :   "The baby emerged from Bea the color of a bruise." Plot summary :  The book tells the story of a group of strangers who, as part of an experiment, are living as nomads in the last wildlife region. The story is centered around Bea and her daughter Agnes, and explores the mother-daughter relationship. Bea joined the experiment to save young Agnes from dying, as her lungs were damaged by the polluted air of the City. Review :  Interesting bits and food for thought: -a cry for help for the natural world/ climate change/ climate refugees; -how we humans always destroy the natural world; -interesting to think how quickly we humans would regress into a "primitive" state; -how would people adapt to living as nomads; -feelings between mother/ daughter Bits I didn't like so much: -boring to read, not very well written, flat characters, bad dialogue, not a c...

  Booker Prize:   WINNER 2001 Plot Time and Place :   Australia, 1870's Opening sentence :  "I lost my own father at 12 yr. of age and know what it is to be raised on lies and silences my dear daughter you are presently too young to understand a word I write but this history is for you and will contain no single lie may I burn in Hell if I speak false." Plot summary :  This is a fictional account of Ned Kelly, the famed Australian bushranger. This is the captivating tale of an outlaw who was considered a national hero. Standing up for the underdog and defying the corrupt powers of the time, Kelly robbed banks, stole horses and murdered police officers with the help of his gang of outlaw misfits. (from thebookerprizes.com) Review :  Well written, fun to read and full of adventures, but I thought it was too long and at times just felt like more of the same. Rating :   3/5

  Booker Prize:   Shortlisted 1981 Plot Time and Place :   Vienna, Kiev, Palestine; 1920's and 1940's Opening sentence :  "Dearest Gisela, I give you a warm bear-hug from the new world!" Plot summary :  This story follows the life of Lisa Erdman, an Austrian opera singer treated by Sigmund Freud for psychosomatic pain. Lisa, who possesses prophetic abilities, shares her erotic hallucinations with Freud, which hint at her future, rather than her past trauma.  Blending fictional narratives with Freud's real case study techniques, the novel delves into Lisa's complex life, and eventual fate. (from supersummary.com) Review : I had never he ard of this book before, and I went into it without knowing anything about it. So at first, I thought it was just a badly wriiten piece of erotic fiction, mixed with a fictionalization of Freud's life. (The erotic parts are not particularly well written). Then I read some reviews on Goodreads and I still couldn't un...

  Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 2023 Plot Time and Place :   Ireland, present day Opening sentence :   "In the next town over, a man had killed his family". Plot summary : " Clocking in at more than 600 pages, it is the story of a well-to-do Irish family in financial, emotional and existential trouble: Dickie Barnes, who has taken over his father’s car showroom; his wife Imelda, a local beauty; daughter Cassie, preparing for university; and 12-year-old son PJ. The after-effects of the financial crash have crippled the motor business, and now that the money and the good times have run out, Dickie hides away in local woods, building a shelter against the collapse of civilisation while Imelda furiously eBays their possessions. Cassie fears for her future; PJ fears divorce. We see the same few months through the eyes of each in turn, during floods and drought, as slow‑building ecological disaster parallels the family’s own unfolding apocalypse." (by Justine Jordan in...

Booker Prize :   WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2018 Plot Time and Place : 17th-century Netherlands, 18th-century Austria, 19th-century Paris and Warsaw, Present-day Croatia Opening sentence :   "I'm a few years old. I'm sitting on the window sill, surrounded by strewn toys and toppled-over block towers and dolls with bulging eyes." Plot summary : From the 17th century, we have the story of the Dutch anatomist Philip Verheyen, who dissected and drew pictures of his own amputated leg. From the 18th century, we have the story of an African-born slave turned Austrian courtier stuffed and put on display after his death. In the 19th century, we follow Chopin's heart as it makes the covert journey from Paris to Warsaw. In the present, we have the story of a young husband whose wife and child mysteriously vanish on a holiday on a Croatian island.  (from the cover of Fitzcarraldo Editions) Review :   I liked Tokarczuk's other book, Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the D...

Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 1999 Plot Time and Place :  India and USA, present day Opening sentence :   "On the veranda overlooking the garden, the drive and the gate, they sit together on the creaking sofa-swing, suspended from its iron frame, dangling their legs so that the slippers on their feet hang loose." Plot summary :  This book is about three siblings in a typical middle-class Indian family, and how they navigate their overbearing parents, sibling jealousy and rivalry, and societal and parental expectations. Review :   Really enjoyed this. The writing is really fluid and the dialogues are realistic. I enjoyed the comparison between the two cultures (Indian and American), but especially the main character, Uma. The way she longs to escape, but doesn't dare, the overbearing parents, the jealousy she feels of her sister, the sadness and resignation of the character and the latent misogyny are all interesting themes. Rating :  4/5

Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 2022 Plot Time and Place : Ireland 1985 Opening sentence :   "In October there were yellow trees." Plot summary : In Catholic Ireland, a man named Bill Furlong discovers the truth about what goes on inside one of the Magdalene "laundries". Review :   A short book, but very powerful. A meditation on what it means to do the right thing, or to look away. Delivers a pretty strong punch. Rating : 4/5

  Booker Prize :   Shortlisted 2007 Plot Time and Place : USA, Pakistan, around 2001 Opening sentence :   "Excuse me, sir, but may I be of assistance? Ah, I see I have alarmed you." Plot summary : A Pakistani immigrant who since 9/11 has become alienated with the USA tells his story to an American stranger. (from thebookerprizes.com) Review : It was i nteresting to get to know the point of view of an immigrant in America. I also really enjoyed the writing: the unreliable narrator, the leaving some aspects open to the reader's interpretation or imagination, the stream of consciousness writing. Also it is a critique of American prejudices, sense of superiority, and out of control capitalism. Rating : 4/5

  Booker Prize :   WINNER 2018 Plot Time and Place :  Northern Ireland, the 1970's Opening sentence : "The day Somebody McSomebody put a gun to my breast and called me a cat and threatened to shoot me was the same day the milkman died." Plot summary :  The story follows an 18-year-old girl who is harassed by an older married man, known as "Milkman". Review :  Negative aspects: the stream-of-consciousness narration gets tiring, and at points it just feels like the narrator is rambling on and on about nothing, and that nothing happens. Positive aspects: the humour; the feminist aspect; learning about life in a small town; learning about life during the Troubles. Rating :  3/5

  Booker Prize :  Shortlisted 2023 Plot Time and Place : Jamaica, Miami; the 1970's, Present time Opening sentence :  "It begins with "What are you?" hollered from the perimeter of your front yard when you're nine - younger, probably." Plot summary :  The story of Trelawney, the son of Jamaican immigrants to America, trying to find his place in the world, and his identity, while trying to overcome his rivalry with his brother, and issues with his father. Review :  I wasn't much into it in the beginning. The Jamaican accent in writing proved pretty hard to read, and the main character wasn't all that likable. But then it grew on me. It's funny, and sad at the same time. I liked the elements of sibling rivalry, and trying to get by in the U.S. I also found it interesting that people seem to be so obsessed about race (and putting people into boxes) in America. Rating :   3/5

  Booker Prize :  Shortlisted 2023 Plot Time and Place : Present-day UK Opening sentence : "I don't know if you have ever stood in the middle of a squash court - on the T - and listened to what is going on next door." Plot summary :  A young girl tries to navigate her grief, and the family's, after her mother's death. Review : I wasn't familiar with the squash stuff, nor with the Indian foods, and other Indian terminology, so that was a bit of a hindrance to my enjoyment of the book. However, I found it touching and I liked the fact that it was a first-person child narrator.  Rating :   3/5