International Booker Prize Shortlist Reaction for 2024
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- Опубліковано 8 кві 2024
- The shortlist for the 2024 International Booker Prize is here! Let's look at the contenders and say goodbye to the longlist. Expand for more information. 👇
Links 💻
The Booker Website: thebookerprizes.com/the-inter...
Further Viewing 🎥
The Longlist Reaction: • International Booker P...
Last Year’s Winner Reaction: • International Booker P...
The Women’s Prize for Fiction Longlist: • Women’s Prize for Fict...
The Women’s Prize for Nonfiction Shortlist: • Women’s Prize for Nonf...
My Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Predictions: • Pulitzer Prize Predict...
The Shortlist 📚
Not a River, Selva Almada (translated by Annie McDermott): bookshop.org/a/99775/97816444...
Kairos, Jenny Erpenbeck (translated by Michael Hoffmann): bookshop.org/a/99775/97808112...
The Details, Ia Genberg (translated by Kira Josefsson): bookshop.org/a/99775/97800633...
Mater 2-10, Hwang Sok-yong (translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Yungjae Josephine Bae): bookshop.org/a/99775/97819573...
What I’d Rather Not Think About, Jente Posthuma (translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey): bookshop.org/a/99775/97819573...
Crooked Plow, Itamar Vieira Junior (translated by Johnny Lorenz): bookshop.org/a/99775/97818397...
Books We Say Goodbye to From the Longlist 📕
The Silver Bone, Andrey Kurkov (translated by Boris Dralyuk): bookshop.org/a/99775/97800633...
Simpatía, Rodrigo Blanco Calderón (translated by Noel Herández González and Daniel Hahn): bookshop.org/a/99775/97816442...
Undiscovered, Gabriela Wiener (translated by Julia Sanches): bookshop.org/a/99775/97800632...
White Nights, Urszula Honek (translated by Kate Webster)
The House on Via Gemito, Domenico Starnone (translated by Oonagh Stransky): bookshop.org/a/99775/97816094...
Lost On Me, Veronica Raimo (translated by Leah Janeczko): bookshop.org/a/99775/97808021...
A Dictator Calls, Ismail Kadare (translated by John Hodgson): bookshop.org/a/99775/97816400...
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I really liked the Details. The female narrator looks back at her life and explores her relationships with 4 people who are no longer in it…each of whom have disappeared in some way: a girlfriend , a chaotic roommate, a boyfriend and her mother. I’m not sure why exactly, but it really moved me. I also read Not a River which is so strong in terms of tone and atmosphere and vibes. Finally I read Simpatia and I enjoyed some aspects of it, but as others have noted: don’t come expecting dog love, or any warm sort of focus on the dogs
Thanks for the feedback on the titles you’ve read.
Jente Posthuma’s “What I’d Rather Not Think About” is the only book I’ve read from the shortlist. You already have enough books on your pile of possibilities that you’ve prioritized so just keep this one on the back burner, knowing that you’ll probably enjoy it (as I certainly did) when you have more time.
The feedback on it so far is good, so I'm hoping my library will have a copy by July.
Always appreciate the time and research you put into your videos. Thank you!
Thank you so much!
I wanted to follow up on this video to say I just finished The Details, a book I’d heard nothing about, and only chose it because it was a very short audiobook available on Scribd, and holy smokes, this book is seriously good. If you ever feel like you have the space for a 4 hour audiobook I hope you give it a shot! Having watched you for a year I have the sense this one is up your alley.
I didn't realize it's only four hours! Thanks.
Crooked Plow has been a HUGE success in Brazil since it was first published in 2018. I bought it but haven’t read it yet. It’s my next title on my TBR pile. 🙂
It’s been getting great feedback in the comments, too.
UK covers are superior to American covers 95% of the time. I hate the simplified, pastel, big font covers from the US!
Indeed.
I don't always think the American cover is worse, but in these cases it's true.
Of the books, I have only read "What I'd Rather Not Think About," which I liked a lot, and am happy to see on the shortlist, and "Lost on Me," which I literally finished yesterday and LOVED. I was a bit disappointed that it didn't make the shortlist, but, again, I haven't read many of the others. "Lost on Me" made me laugh out loud several times, but it also punched me in the gut a few times. Just a side note: you could read either of these two titles in an afternoon, most likely... they are both more novellas than novels, particularly "What I'd Rather Not Think About", though "Lost on Me" is probably more fun to read, in my opinion. I would recommend both, though.
I hadn’t realized that both books are so short. Thanks-you have me looking forward to reading them.
Crooked Plow is amazing. Best read in a long time.
Good to know!
New subscriber here... just wanted to say I really enjoy your content.
Thanks! That means a lot.
I agree that there isn't all that much buzz or hype around the International Booker this year, it all felt very crowded with the 4 major prizes all releasing longlists around the same time, and then the short lists coming too quickly. Still the two that I was most interested in made the shortlist anyway - Jente Posthuma's What I'd Rather Not Think About and Ia Genberg's The Details. I'm planning on starting WIRNTA quite soon, maybe next week as the funnest readathon of the year (#eurovisionathon) starts this weekend. I have another book picked out for Sweden at this stage but would love to get to The Details soon too - along with literally a thousand other books...
I look forward to your thoughts on the Posthuma novel!
Your right does seem like a quiet year, but for me I’ll eventually read most of the long list. I’m picking up Simpatia tomorrow from my local independent bookstore. I have crooked Plow but need to read. White Nights is my sad to see go, Kairos is who I’m rooting for . Trouble for me is the bright and shiny new things have been distracting me . I think people have underrated the list
I’m thinking the shortlist will churn up some excitement for the International Booker. People are already sounding eager to catch up!
I’ve only read one of the finalists so it’s the only one I can comment on - Crooked Plow - really enjoyed!!
I have a few in my TBR list!
I hope you enjoy the ones you pick up!
So many new books to read this year
So many!
I just haven't felt the call of the International Booker this year. But I've also been very preoccupied with the Women's Prizes. I have tried to keep up with reviews though, and I get the impression that Kairos is the favourite to win. (Except that no book with a male translator has ever won!) I don't know the fate of the dogs in Simpatía, but the book is apparently a candidate for the "Bad Sex in Fiction" Award. 😂 The longlisted book I would most like to read is the short story collection White Nights. But the publisher is so small it has proved really difficult to get hold of, even in the UK. (Just checked Waterstones again this very moment and they've gone from "we can order it from the publisher, it will take 4-5 weeks" to actually having it in stock! Hooray! It has a really great cover too.)
Someone else said the same thing about Simpatia's award chances for that category. 😂
The Details is amazing! Reading Kairos now.
I look forward to your thoughts on Kairos.
I read Jente Posthuma in Dutch and really liked it. I read it in one day and still think about the book.
And it's kind of a queer-story :)
Ooh, that's good to know. Thanks!
It’s a fantastic book, moving and memorable.
I hoped that Lost on me could be included in the short-list. Ilove The details since It's a very intimate book. Kairos has a very interesting beginning. Crooked Plow has an interesting opinion about colonialism. And I love Mater 2-10 since It's a perfect historical fiction
It's so hard to predict which direction the jury might be leaning. Which is a fun situation to be in with a book prize!
I haven’t read any on the International Booker list yet, but will hopefully read at least a few (and whichever title wins) later in the year. I’m drowning in all the other prize lists plus trying to read a few from your Pulitzer Possibilities before that gets announced.
I used to be just a kindle or Audible reader before stumbling into Booktube. Y’all have been a bad influence! Now I’m not only buying pretty books to enjoy looking at on my bookshelves, but I’ve also been comparing which cover I like more-and yes, I keep getting packages from the UK. Sigh. 😅
This year’s book prizes have given us an embarrassment of riches!
Excited to see Selva Almada in the running. After enjoying The Wind That Lays Waste and Brickmakers I finally read Dead Girls. Disturbing and heartbreaking but power and necessary. Her tendency towards shorter novels was welcome with this difficult subject. Will be reading Not A River but need a little break with some lighter reading.
I get it-Brickmakers was very heavy for such a short book.
Crooked Plow is amazing. I made the same comment in another video of yours. 🤭
Tip: Ia Genberg is pronounced "eee-yah yenberg".
I also wasn't so inspired by this shortlist. Enjoyed the video though! ❤
Thanks!
Oops, I didn’t realize I own a copy of Kairos. I got it in a Boxwalla subscription (which is, btw, who sent me last year’s International Booker winner). I only realized it in this video when you showed the American cover version. 🤦🏻♀️ I can’t believe I didn’t recognize it! So, I guess I’m starting there. And maybe Boxwalla will be two for two.
Ha! I'm glad I went with the US versions.
Have you ever read a book where you couldn't stand any of the characters but really enjoyed the book? That happened to me with the Pulitzer Prize winner The Executioners Song, the 1,050 page behemoth by Norman Mailer. Blew through it like a Montana wind.
I'm sure it's happened but I can't think of an example off the top of my head. But I still need to get to Executioner's Song for my Pulitzer project, so maybe I'll have it then!
Greg, I have a book rec for you Titled Boys Come First by Aaron Foley
I just looked it up and it sounds great! My library has a copy, so thanks for the recommendation.
I tend to lean toward U.K. covers most of the time. Of course I rarely actually get the U.K. version in the U.S. I did get Not A River in the U.K. edition. I just love the Charco covers
The Charco cover looks much better to me.
I’d still go ahead and read Simpatica. If a book makes a long list, it’s worth reading. The two books that have had the best reviews are
Kairos
Crooked Plow
I’m in the thick of trying to get back into Womens Prize reading, after reading virtually nothing last week . So I’m listening to
Brotherless Night
Restless Dolly Maunder
I have three text copies of
The Maiden
And Then She Fell
☘️👋🍀🇮🇪☕️📚📕
We'll have the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Fiction soon enough!
I'm reading Crooked Plow and am impressed so far. I want to get to Not a River. I'd also like to read White Nights even though it wasn't shortlisted. Other than those three, I'm not interested in reading all the books.
It does seem like people are picking and choosing more this year, which I certainly vibe with.
I have been reading Erpenbeck and I'm keen to read Kairos.
I hope you like it!
@@SupposedlyFun It's on my TBR pile, but it may be a while before I get to it.
I’m not sure you’d enjoy Simpatia honestly. I thought it would focus much more on the saving of the dogs but I’m not even sure how to describe the novel. Yes, the story centers around a dog shelter but it’s really just about the main character fulfilling his obligation of opening this shelter in order to earn his inheritance. I’d be interested in the perspective of the couple who actually care about the dogs and are involved in their rescuing, but you don’t get much background on them unfortunately.
That's good to know--thank you!
I would like to hear discussion on this one. I liked it but the ending left me with questions.
I love the Booker International, and this year it hasn’t disappointed. I have read nine of the 13 longlisted books and follow the chatter about the prize on FB. Clearly, The Crooked Plow is the favorite for many, although it comes a little too close to Socialist Realism for my tastes. I really enjoyed Kairos and have it at the top of my To Be Reread list. I hope it wins. What I’d Rather Not Think About was a powerful reading experience, one that keeps coming back to me. I am just starting Mater 2-10. Not A River hasn’t been published in the US yet, so I am waiting for a copy. For me, the best translation (but maybe not book) didn’t make the short list ~ Lost on Me.
Than you for all the feedback on the books you've read! I've been looking forward to hearing more.
No offence, but I think you missed the point of Crooked Plow if you think it got “too close to socialist realism”. The book literally describes a Brazil stuck in its colonialist past and people who live in conditions analogous to slavery…..the book is about strength, resilience and resistance. There is absolutely no socialist realism about people of colour not wanting to be abused and taken advantage of by white people.
Crooked Plow is the one that I'm interested in.
If I hadn't read The Words That Remain, I would probably be more interested in it.
@@SupposedlyFunOh no. Do I need to change my mind?
i have read all of the longlist, except for mater 2-10 and the starnone. i dont think you'd like simpatia, there is some dog violence. (there's also some really bad sex writing and an obsession w/ the godfather). it's an unusual novel, hard to pin down but i think you could skip it. the details is nice in the moment, but kind of forgettable. from what i read, i really liked white nights, not a river, and kairos. but, i think crooked plow or mater will win
Good to know re: Simpatia. Thanks!
Thank you for the TW. I have basically no triggers EXCEPT dog violence. So, good to know.
Good video as ever. I have a question and I'd love to hear your thoughts. You mention Selva Almada and reputations. Do you think being 'known' already has a direct impact on the judges thoughts or is it still possible for an unknown author to break into what appears to be a closed shop?
In my humble opinion, from what I have read, Kairos might just take the prize this year.
I think it depends on the jury and how they interpret their job. Sometimes, the members want to shine a light on an unrecognized or new talent. Sometimes they take on other criteria. That’s what makes it unpredictable every year!
@@SupposedlyFun I hope they do this year :-)
Presuming you won’t be out of the country for the Pulitzer announcement. 😉
The International Booker longlist didn’t inspire me at all. I may catch up with one or two sometime in the future. But basically skipping this prize this year. Now that you mention it, it does seem like the new non-fiction Women’s Prize may have gotten in the way a bit. They put a new major prize in a spot that already had two major prizes. Then again, maybe it’s just not a great list for the international Booker. Shrug.
The Pulitzer announcement is about four days before I leave, so I'll be home! Whatever the reason, it does feel like there's less excitement for the International Booker this year.
@@SupposedlyFun Hurray! I know nothing can top last year’s double win for excitement, but your Pulitzer reaction videos are always such fun!
@@mradcaqbdb If a double win happens again my heart probably couldn't take it. 😂
@@the_snicklefritz That's really good to know--thanks!
@@SupposedlyFun Teddy would do CPR! 💜 As long as he’s not snoring somewhere. 🤣
I know most of the people who talked about the international Booker that I followed no longer make content. There wasn’t many who did to begin with, but now even less.
That’s sad!
I have read the details and I am shocked this is on the shortlist. I didn’t like it at all.
Feedback on it in the comments is a bit all over. Maybe it's a cilantro book.
I read simpatía in Spanish and was really disappointed. It touches on the reality of Venezuela, including the plight of dogs, but it is nostalgic a well crafted narrative and Infound it very boring. Sorry
Translation messes up the message
All good! Thank you for the feedback!