The 1984 Booker Prize- A Deep Dive and Review

Hello everyone! It's Bob here, and I wanted to do a throwback and deep dive into the shortlist for the 1984 Booker Prize, and my personal choices for the winner!

This is all part of my (foolhardy) decision to read all of the novels shortlisted for The Booker Prize over its 50+ years. Please recommend what year you would like me to do next, and I hope you enjoy the video!

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Books Mentioned:

1984 List:

Anita Brookner- Hotel du Lac
JG Ballard- Empire of the Sun
Julian Barnes- Flaubert's Parrot
Anita Desai- In Custody
Penelope Lively- According to Mark
David Lodge- Small World

Other books mentioned:

Angela Carter- Nights at the Circus

[AJ_Dunn]

I love these deep dives. I get introduced to so many authors I know nothing about. When you said you weren't alive in 1984 I felt old. LOL

[soniajohnson]

This year was the first year I became aware of the Booker prize and bought Hotel du Lac. It will always hold a soft spot for me, and introduced a new to me author.

[illustratorsam]

So, I’m finally kicking off my read-through of the Booker Shortlists. I’m choosing the shortlist/year at random… guess what year was chosen first? 🥴

[TheLeniverse]

I really liked Flaubert's Parrot. It even made me want to read Flaubert. 😆 I liked it a lot better than the one he actually won a Booker for. I agree so much about Angela Carter! I feel like the Women's Prize would have listed her had it existed back then.

[charlieuliginosa]

You're quite correct to say Anita distanced herself somewhat from Hotel Du Lac. Having read many of her novels I'd agree with Anita. Incidentally, Anita did say the Booker got it wrong choosing Hotel..when pressed which of her titles the Booker should have chosen, she suggested The Latecomers, which I'd rate superior to Hotel.. The odd thing with Brookner's work I found is you can easily re-read her novels without feeling you've previously read them, they're that rich. I'd urge anyone to read all her novels, Hotel.. would serve however, as a gateway introduction. Brookner's body of work has to be kept from silently slipping off the bookshelves but then expectations dashed is oft a constant theme for Brookner.

[omnipotentpoobah]

In hindsight the 1984 Booker should probably have gone to Amis for his novel Money. It’s easy to come to that conclusion (as many critics have) with the benefit of 35 years odd of perspective after the event, but it does underscore the tendency of the Booker to occasionally deliver unusual outcomes.

As I think Julian Barnes has stated before, each year the winner and the shortlist tells you more about the judges than necessarily the books...