Reading All the Bookers!

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 :    WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2017 Plot Time and Place :  Present day Israel Opening sentence :  "Good evening! Good evening! Good evening to the majestic city of Caesariyaaaaaah!" Plot summary : A stand-up comedian delivers a shockingly cruel routine about guilt and betrayal. (from thebookerprizes.com) Review :   I read it in one sitting, which is a good sign. Somehow, it was like staring at a car crash: you just couldn't look away. However, I kept waiting for something terrible to happen, storywise, and it just didn't, the ending was disappointing. But I enjoyed the portrait of a bullied, lonely boy, and also of the grief-stricken, guilty narrator. Rating :   3/5

  Booker Prize :   WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2019 Plot Time and Place :  A village in Oman, at various times during the 20th century. Opening sentence : "Mayya, forever immersed in her Singer sewing machine, seemed lost to the outside world". Plot summary :  In an Omani village, we encounter three sisters: Mayya, who marries Abdallah after a heartbreak; Asma, who marries from a sense of duty; and Khawla, who rejects all offers while waiting for her beloved, who has emigrated to Canada. These three women and their families witness Oman evolve from a traditional society to its complex present. Review : I enjoyed the beautiful writing style, alternating between different characters' voices. I also liked getting to know such a different culture.  Rating :   3/5

  Booker Prize :   WINNER  International Booker 2022 Plot Time and Place :  India and Pakistan, present day. Opening sentence :    "A tale tells itself." Plot summary :  In northern India, an 80-year-old woman slips into a deep depression at the death of her husband, then resurfaces to gain a new lease of life. Review :   I appreciate what the author was trying to do (reinventing language, playing with words and sounds), but this was just too long. 739 pages of wordplay and soundplay, and the story is not so interesting. However, I persevered, and by the end it gets more like a "normal" story and the ending is quite beautiful. But altogether, it just didn't work for me. Rating :   2/5

  Booker Prize :  WINNER INTERNATIONAL BOOKER 2023 Plot Time and Place :   It's complicated. Opening sentence :    "At one point they tried to calculate when time began, when exactly the earth had been created." Plot summary :   A "clinic for the past" run by an enigmatic therapist offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer's sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time to a familiar, safer, happier moment. Review :    What a great book. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I was in for a ride. And what a ride! I was hooked from the beginning. The premise is very interesting, and it raises questions about personal and national identity, about time, about nostalgia.  It also made me think about the stories, or narratives, that people and nations tell themselves (which may or may not be true). The writing style has echoes of Borges, Mann, and Kafka. This book makes you think. If you were aroun...

  Booker Prize :  Winner International Booker 2021 Plot Time and Place :  First World War, on the battlefront, and Senegal Opening sentence :     "I know, I understand, I shouldn't have done it." Plot summary : Alfa and Mademba are two Senegalese soldiers fighting in the Great War. Then Mademba is mortally wounded and dies. Without his more-than-brother, Alfa is alone and lost amidst the savagery of the conflict. How far will he go to make amends to his dead friend? Review :   I really enjoyed the writing, it is very melodic and beautiful. I also liked the story, touching on the themes of war, courage, friendship, grief, regret. Rating :  4/5

  Booker Prize :  Winner  International Booker 2024 Plot Time and Place :  Berlin, immediately before and after the fall of the Wall Opening sentence :    "Will you come to my funeral?" Plot summary :  " An intimate and devastating story of the path of two lovers through the ruins of a relationship, set against the backdrop of a seismic period in history." (from thebookerprizes.com) Review :  At first I enjoyed the love story, with the description of life in the DDR in the background. But the book is way too long, and the story loses its magic. It gets tiresome and depressing. Rating :  2/5

Booker Prize :  Winner International Booker  2020  Plot Time and Place :  Present day Netherlands Opening sentence :    "I was ten and stopped taking off my coat." Plot summary :  It is narrated by ten-year-old Jas, a girl who lives with her religious family on a dairy farm in the Netherlands. Jas is grieving the death of her brother, who died in an accident. His death drives further instability in the family and deteriorates Jas' mental health.  Review :  It´s strange to say you liked a book when it is so full of disturbing scenes and imagery. But I liked it. The writing is beautiful, the descriptions very imaginative, and it was interesting to see how different people deal with grief, and the dynamic between siblings. The author is also very good at writing in the first person as a child, it really feels like a child's voice and thoughts. Rating :  4/5

  Booker Prize:  Winner International Booker 2016 Plot Time and Place : Present day South Korea Opening sentence:   "Before my wife turned vegetarian, I'd always thought of her as completely unremarkable in every way". Plot summary : The story is about a woman who suddenly decides to stop eating meat. This generates a lot of conflicts with her family because, up until this point, she had always been a very passive, subservient person.  Review:  I really enjoyed this. The novel is divided into three parts. The first part is narrated by the protagonist, Yeong-hye's, husband. The second part is told from the point of view of Yeong-hye's brother-in-law. And the third part is told from her sister's point of view. So we almost never actually hear Yeong-hye's voice. In fact, she has no voice. She feels stifled by Korean social norms and everyday sexism. And refusing to eat meat is the way that she finds to take a stand, to fight back. Also the story includes some...