Literary prizes are always fun: plenty of speculation and eager guesses, plus loads of reviews and recommendations to savour. There are also the bloggers who try to read whole longlists and shortlists, whom I really admire because I could never take on that amount of reading with a deadline! And the nominated books are always so diverse, and I am very reluctant these days to read a book I know isn’t my sort of thing.
The longlist for this year’s Man Booker Prize came out today, and as is only right social media subsequently exploded with congratulations, reading challenges and excitement. Personally I am rooting for Almost English by Charlotte Mendelson. I read the book a few months ago when the lovely Sophie from Mantle at Pan Mac sent it to me. All the other books on the list look equally worthy, however, so I cannot imagine how the judges are to go about choosing a shortlist, and then a winner.
Almost English is the only one I have read and while I won’t be committing to reading the whole list I like the idea of choosing a couple to read so that I feel a bit more informed about the whole thing. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton appeals, as does The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris, The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin, and Unexploded by Alison MacLeod (you can find out more about all these titles, and the rest of the list, here). No promises, but I’ll see how many I can read before the shortlist is announced in September.
Have you read any of the longlist? What do you think of the choices this year? Comment below!
These Little Words 
I’ve only read TransAtlantic by Colum McCann, and don’t know anything about Charlotte Mendelson’s book, so will be off to read your review soon. Happy to see Eleanor Catton on there too, this will be a great boost for her.
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Have you read The Luminaries then? What did you think of it?
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No, I’ve read The Rehearsal and some excellent short stories, her novel was interesting and writing wise, quite avant garde, the short stories really compelling, so no idea how this novel will be compared with her former works, but I am keen to find out.
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