The winner of this year’s Booker Prize will be announced on Monday at a glamorous London ceremony. But before the judges have their say, we want to hear from you about which of the shortlisted books should take the title.
The six nominees include a tale of a bizarre campus experiment, a novel that envisions an alien-ravaged Britain and the story of a depressed history teacher whose life is suddenly transformed.
Which novel do you think should join a list of past winners that includes Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children,” Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things” and, most recently, David Szalay’s “Flesh”?
Read about the nominees below, then vote for your choice — and tell us why in the comments.
“Black Bag,” by Luke Kennard
This satirical novel centers on a failing actor who secures an unusual job: attending psychology lectures while hidden inside a black leather bag as part of a professor’s eccentric experiment. Soon, the actor is wearing the bag off-campus, too. Critics have commented on the novel’s humor — a rare characteristic for a Booker nominee. Kennard, himself a university lecturer, said in an email interview that one of his students had recently turned up to class “wearing his backpack backward on his head” in tribute to the book. “I was very touched,” Kennard said.
“The Disappearers,” by Marlon James
One of the favorites for this year’s prize, according to bookmakers, this monumental novel is about a group of mainly closeted gay men in 1980s Jamaica who try to stage a play. During one rehearsal, the group suffers a murderous homophobic attack. Dwight Garner said in his review for The New York Times that James, who has already won the Booker once, had written a “masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far.”
“The End of Everything,” by M. John Harrison
Harrison’s latest novel is as much about capturing a mood as a plot. In it, aliens have overrun Britain, and no one seems to understand how to live with them. In a BBC interview, Harrison, who is one of Britain’s most acclaimed science fiction writers, said he wanted to put the reader in “a fog of unknowing” similar to the one his human characters experience. He didn’t even define the alien race fully for himself, he said: “I thought, ‘I cannot clarify them too much — otherwise I’ll write a typical science fiction novel.’”
“John of John,” by Douglas Stuart
Stuart, like James, has won the Booker before, and some prediction markets favor his latest novel for this year’s prize. “John of John” tells the story of a young gay man who returns to his childhood home on a remote Scottish island expecting to care for his grandmother. But the 22-year-old also has to deal with his wrathful father and the secrets that each of the characters holds close. Stuart has said in interviews that he developed the book during a 12-week trip to Scotland’s Western Isles. Read our review.
“May We Feed the King,” by Rebecca Perry
In the only debut novel among this year’s nominees, a curator is hired by the owners of a former British palace to recreate historical scenes in its grand rooms. During her research, the curator delves into the mysteriously short reign of a king who once ruled from the property. The novel then immerses the reader in that reluctant monarch’s world. Perry said in a recent interview that the book was “very nakedly also talking about storytelling and how we kind of curate the past.” Read our review.
“The Things We Never Say,” by Elizabeth Strout
Strout’s new novel opens with a depressed high school history teacher searching for a way to kill himself without his wife, son or students ever realizing that he has done so. Then, a boating accident upends the teacher’s life. The story plays out against the backdrop of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, with one page featuring only the lines: “The election came and went. Half of the country was stunned, the other half jubilant.” It has won acclaim for Strout, already a Pulitzer Prize winner. Read our review.
The post The Booker Prize Is Monday. Which of These 6 Titles Should Win? appeared first on New York Times.
