Or if you are feeling fragile.
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Rounding off what the judges described as a “diverse and experimental” shortlist are British authors Tom McCarthy and Sunjeev Sahota.
In cultural circles, only the Nobel Prize for Literature carries more worldwide cachet than the Booker.
Last year’s Man Booker Prize was taken by author Richard Flanagan, who won for his work “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”.
Whether or not any connections can be made between the six novels is an interesting question.
There were, as the Guardian put it, “top-end grumblings” from literary heavyweights like Peter Carey, Graham Swift and AS Byatt, past Booker winners all.
Anne Tyler (US) for A Spool Of Blue Thread: Tyler is a veteran in the game. The novel shines a penetrating light on immigration through the lives of the characters before and after they came to Britain. In light of the growing migrant population in Europe, the book would appeal not only to the already present Indian diaspora but also to those of other nations, in the same situation.
James’ “A Brief History of Seven Killings” is set in his native Jamaica and is about the attempted assassination of Bob Marley. McCarthy’s novel Satin Island features a protagonist called “U” who’s an “in-house ethnographer” for a business consultancy firm: fans of McCarthy’s previous novels will identify the grim humour in such a calling.
The judges remarked on the variety of writing styles, cultural heritage and literary backgrounds of the writers on the shortlist, which includes new authors alongside established names. “If the Booker is open to USA authors, it will create a huge imbalance”.
Sahota’s novel follows a group of immigrant Indian labourers – including the former rickshaw driver Tarlochan, the secretive Avtar and the unpredictable Randeep – who share a dilapidated house in Sheffield and are in search of a new life. It’s more than none of these five writers seems to have any optimism at all about the human condition.
Obioma was born in Akure, Nigeria, and completed a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing at the University of Michigan before recently joining UNL’s English department as an assistant professor. Best to accept that now and move on.
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“There are two career-changing prizes, the Booker and the Pulitzer”, she said.
