Kiran Desai’s “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny,” a sweeping, nearly 700-page cross-continental romance, and Katie Kitamura’s “Audition,” a 200-page thriller about an actress’s relationship with a man who might be her son, are among the six titles shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize.
The nominees, revealed on Tuesday during an event at the Royal Festival Hall in London, also include Susan Choi’s “Flashlight,” a family saga that ranges from suburban America to North Korea; David Szalay’s “Flesh,” about a Hungarian man’s rise from teenage criminality to high society; Benjamin Markovits’ “The Rest of Our Lives,” about an American professor who leaves his wife and heads off on a road trip; and Andrew Miller’s “The Land in Winter,” about two tense marriages in rural England.
Roddy Doyle, the chair of this year’s judging panel and himself a Booker Prize-winning author for “Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha,” said at a news conference before Tuesday’s announcement that the novels were all “brilliantly human.”
“That might seem a bit trite,” he said, “but I’ve read novels where I’ve often felt to myself, ‘If there was a little bit less showing off, there would be a good story there,’ and I don’t think any of these books show off.”
Chris Power, also a judge this year, said the books shared another characteristic: They all contain “pretty hostile child-parent relationships.”
“I don’t know what that says about our parenting identities,” Power added with a laugh.
Also on the judging panel are Sarah Jessica Parker and the authors Ayòbámi Adébáyò and Kiley Reid.
First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize has become one of literature’s most prestigious awards. Last year’s prize went to “Orbital” by Samantha Harvey, a novel set aboard the International Space Station. Other winners over the past decade have included “A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James, “The Testaments” by Margaret Atwood, and Douglas Stuart’s “Shuggie Bain.”
Desai is the only previous Booker winner on this year’s shortlist; her last novel, “The Inheritance of Loss,” won the 2006 prize. “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” is arguably the highest-profile nominee, having this month received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.
Alexandra Jacobs, in The New York Times Book Review, said it was “not so much a novel as a marvel,” and “better company than real-life people.” Anthony Cummins in The Times of London said the novel had “undeniable power and heft” and that no one could argue if Desai wins the Booker again.
Still, critics have praised all six titles. Miller’s “The Land in Winter,” which has not yet been released in the United States, has received several stellar reviews in Britain. James Walton in The Times of London described it as “a gently persuasive reminder that every age gets some things right and plenty wrong — and that at the time it’s not always clear which is which.”
The judges will now reread the six finalists before announcing a winner at a ceremony in London on Nov. 10. The winning author will receive 50,000 pounds, about $67,000.
The full shortlist:
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Katie Kitamura, “Audition”
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Benjamin Markovits, “The Rest of Our Lives,” set for a Jan. 13 release in the United States
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Andrew Miller, “The Land in Winter,” set for a Nov. 4 release in the United States
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David Szalay, “Flesh”
Alex Marshall is a Times reporter covering European culture. He is based in London.
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