![]() ![]() 'The Fortune Men' by Nadifa Mohamed is about a man wrongly found guilty of murder. 'The Fortune Men' by Nadifa Mohamed: The true-life historical drama Actually, the way Shipstead marshals the spread of 20th-century history and the ridiculousness of modern day Los Angeles is something special there's nothing wrong, after all, in celebrating a rich, compulsively readable epic full of brilliantly drawn characters. It was intriguing enough to make The National's pick of 2021 back in January.īut, we admit, it’s so entertaining and eager to please (and move) that it didn't immediately strike us as Booker Prize-winning material. This time last year, we were sent a proof of a curious book a massive, century-spanning tale of a daredevil aviator who goes missing on a Pole to Pole aerial expedition in the 1950s, and the faded Hollywood star who is cast to play her in a biopic decades later. 'Great Circle' by Maggie Shipstead is a rich, readable epic with brilliantly drawn characters. 'Great Circle' by Maggie Shipstead: The huge, century spanning epic ![]() A counterpoint to the crushing anxieties of existence in the 21st century, like the act of reading itself, it’s a hymn to the power of the imagination. Theo’s only means of succour for his boy is to transport him to the worlds he imagines in his research, and it works beautifully. We made Richard Powers’s Bewilderment one of The National’s books of the month for September – just before it made the shortlist – and re-reading it for this Booker round-up, we’re even more convinced that it’s the most timely and important novel on this list.Īs astrobiologist Theo and his son aged 9 try to cope with the death of their much-loved partner and mother, Robin becomes increasingly troubled by the fate of the creatures on planet Earth. Richard Powers' 'Bewilderment' is set in a world grappling with climate change and ecological disasters. 'Bewilderment' by Richard Powers: The eco-conscious climate crisis novel But for all these tricksy techniques it’s also incredibly, page-turningly readable. The Promise can be funny, it can be barbed, it can go off on weird tangents and it can address the reader’s prejudices directly. Certainly, it marries his usual concerns – the effect of apartheid on generations of South African life – with a more expansive vision this time the decline of a white family over 40 years.Įach 10-year period in The Promise is marked by a death of a significant family member – and frequently appalling behaviour – but there’s also the sense that Galgut is having fun with the literary form here. ![]() Galgut has been shortlisted for the Booker twice previously, and it would be no surprise if The Promise went one better and won. ![]() 'The Promise' by Damon Galgut: The satisfying family sagaĭamon Galgut revisits the effect of apartheid on generations of South African life in 'The Promise'. What Lockwood has achieved is the opposite of social media homogeneity though a singular, funny and often groundbreaking novel for our times. The way Lockwood chronicles her character’s journey of redemption without making her a total ogre is remarkable, and she makes some fascinating points about how incessant online discourse can take on a character of its own. Structured as a series of wry observations formatted much like Twitter posts themselves, Lockwood gradually moves from a piercingly exact description of social media (her protagonist opines on the fashionable way to laugh) towards a kind of reality her narrator is not prepared for: actual grief and tragedy. What is social media doing to us? American writer Patricia Lockwood’s debut explores all the absurdities, trivialities and toxicities of online life as her famous protagonist tours the world, talking to her fans about "the new slipstream of information". 'No One Is Talking About This' is structured as a series of wry observations formatted much like Twitter posts. 'No One Is Talking About This' by Patricia Lockwood: The satire of contemporary life The lack of a standout favourite from these six remarkable books has nothing to do with quality, however, and everything to do with how tremendously distinct these tales are.įrom luxuriant epics to historical dramas, contemporary satires to family sagas, all literary life is here – let The National be your guide to the book that will suit your reading tastes. It's Booker Prize time again this week, but good luck trying to pick a winner from this year's crop of the best English language literary novels. ![]()
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