Reacting to the Booker Prize Longlist 2024

If you fancy it you can -

[MercysBookishMusings]

I forgot to say that My Friends by Hisham Matar was on my wishlist too :)

[SoniaBIndianCinema]

Definitely agree with you on diversity and books from the US. Would like to be introduced to books that wouldn't otherwise get the exposure.

[leolamoon]

Just finished Erasure by Percival Everett. Wonderful novel. He has such a strong voice and beautiful sense of humanity. Like you, most of my reading is female authors. Most of my favorite authors are female. But I have now read two books by Everett, also read The Trees, and find him a very compelling read. Will definitely be reading James, and because I read Twain’s novel many decades ago, I’ll give that a reread before diving into James. Erasure would be a good starting point for Everett, as it feels very personal.

[EricKarlAnderson]

Great to hear your thoughts on these and glad to hear your enthusiasm for The Safekeep since that’s the novel from the list I’ll be reading next. I’m so glad you’re eager to read more of My Friends which I think is really brilliant. I just finished Enlightenment and also felt a bit disappointed by it. I really enjoyed Headshot but I get why it’s not for some readers as the style of writing about consciousness is something I really enjoy - I fear you won’t enjoy Orbital for the same reason. I don’t love satire either but I love James and feel like it’s a story with so much heart. Just read the Wikipedia summary of Huck Finn before reading James and that’s all you need to know but fair enough if you’re not drawn to reading it.

[TimothyJohnson-mc]

I think that you will enjoy the audio of James. I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn when I was a child. Growing up in the South (USA), it was on the required reading list. (Note: older generation here). James is so refreshing to read. I loved it. I love to follow all the prizes. I try to read all the long list of the Booker and Women's Prize for Fiction. Thank you for doing this subject. I always appreciate your thoughts.

[Stephanie-kgdg]

I'm over halfway through Orbital right now. It's definitely vague and philosophical. "No plot, just vibes" is how I saw someone else describe it. But the beautiful writing is definitely there too.

[jorjastonej]

It is rubbish that a lot of the list is Penguin. And yes, less USA and more diversity would be appreciated by me. There a few that I would like to read. Thanks for your perspective

[notthemostread]

I am so so glad you loved The Safekeep! I will be picking it up when I get out of my reading slump.

[starstuffpuff]

The Pulitzer is specifically focused on "the great American novel", narratives to do with American life. At least they have now opened it to authors living in the US, not just American citizens. James is a good book, but for me it was the same experience as reading Trust - a book I can admire, but didn't love and didn't particularly enjoyed the reading experience (I loved The Trees though). The Overstory was so different from Bewilderment, which I loved, so I have big expectations from Playground. I finished Orbital a couple of days ago, and as a science buff who reads a lot of popular science nonfiction (with a focus on astronomy) and enjoys philosophical discussions, it was definitely right up my alley (not quite 5 stars, but not far from). I'm currently half way through Headshot and I'm enjoying it. I started reading My Friends a while ago, but it ended up going back to the library because I couldn't focus on the story at that time, but I could tell it was a book I would eventually return to. Definitely interested in The Safekeep, Enlightenment, Wandering Stars, Creation Lake and Wild Houses.

[lynniepie]

I probably read Huckleberry Finn 60 years ago, but I did refresh myself with the short synopsis… James is wonderful book And I think you will engage with Jim/James… the satire in this book is minimal in my opinion…

[Juultje]

I haven't read The Overstory, but your description of the writing/narration style is exactly what bothered me about his other book, Bewilderment. Very interested to hear your thoughts on his new one, if you end up reading it, as it might push me one way or the other to read it too :) I have Young Skins by Colin Barrett on my tbr for this month, which will determine whether I'll read his longlisted novel. I very much agree with your sentiment regarding the lack of diversity on this list!

[juditkovacs]

I never read through the Booker long or short list because of the issue you've also mentioned. Some books always sound interesting, but I usually wait until booktubers/bookstagramers I trust talk about their experience reading those before I purchase them. Sometimes this means putting off reading some books for years. I feel exactly the same this year as well.
Agree on the satire being off putting part. Even though the premise alone would be interesting.
Also agree on the Richard Powers great American author voice thing, even though I like the Overstory a lot. It is a spot on description of his style.

[Alpine]

I'm not overly excited by this long list. I've tried reading many of them. Couldn't get past the first chapter of most of them.

[CharlieBrookReads]

It’s good to hear that you enjoyed The Safekeep. I definitely want to try that soon. I have just started Wandering Stars and I am enjoying the little bit I have read so far. With any longlist I just want to find some new favourites so hopefully I do and I hope you do too.

Great to hear your reaction to the list Mercedes ❤

[ameliabarlowbooks]

totally agree with the trepidation around satire in books, I DNF'd The Trees because I just wanted the narrative voice to be way more serious in tone. I probably won't read James for the same reasons - not to mention the fact that I skipped the Huckleberry Finn seminar at uni and went to the pub instead, so there's that x

[GaggingLit]

Such a good run-through of this list! Never read any of these authors, though I'd heard about some of them before, so hearing your insights was great. I was disappointed at the paucity of independent publishers. Until I get some full reviews of the books I don't think I'll pick any up. I didn't read any from last year lol.

[SineadScrap]

Thank you! I've read "My Friends, " which I found humorless, and "James" was a great adventure. "Wandering Stars" looks of interest to me, and you've sparked my interest in "The Safe Keep." I totally agree with you regarding diversity, and you mentioned a Nigerian author wasn't included, and I'm feeling it would have been fabulous if "Blessings" by Chuwuebuka Ibeh had been the inclusion.

[foxedfolios]

Great video as usual.
I’m attempting the longlist (did it in 2021 and 2022, but fell away last year).

So far I’ve read:
My Friends, which I thought was fantastic - a definite 5-star read for me.
Enlightenment, which I also thought would be 5-star, but ended up around 4-4.5 for being too long IMO. But beautifully written and very thoughtful (FWIW, I have tried Perry’s previous work and not been particularly enamoured/enthusiastic about)
I have tried starting the Messud three times now, which does not bode well, but it’s the only book so far that I have picked up in audio so I’m wondering if that’s the problem…or whether it’s just tedious! 😂
I struggled through The Trees a while back when it was on some prize list (previous Booker…? 🤔), and didn’t enjoy it at all. But, like others here, I don’t often/ever enjoy satire. So I’ve started James with a degree of trepidation…particularly as I haven’t read Huckleberry Finn. So we shall see…
I am dreading the Kushner as I hated the Mars Room (which for me read like Kushner had wanted to write a non-fiction book about women, class, structural inequality and criminal justice system, but couldn’t be bothered with the level of factual /research rigour that would require, so just decided to write some fiction about it without much additional thought), and DNFed The Flamethrowers for being tedious. But I shall give her a third try in the name of being a sad completionist!

Good luck with your reading - hope you find some great reads in addition to the Safe Keep! 😊

[stefashaler]

I haven't read any of the books on the longlist. Since the Booker Prize board decided to allow USA writers to compete, I've lost interest in their offerings whereas the Booker Prize used to be my guiding light for choosing books. I realize I'm shooting myself in the foot by ignoring the Booker but I'm a bit of an all-or-nothing person. I'm aghast at how American exceptionalism is still so readily adopted worldwide, especially since the USA now lurks very low in so many categories of development (see the UN and other lists). As for The Natural Way of Things and The Overstory, you've put into words my responses. Thank you. My stomach turns every time I recall the Natural Way of Things.

[iamtherealjulia]

Read James! It's not "satirical" as in "haha". It's very moving a powerful about a slave who transforms from Jim to James by fighting for his life and his dignity by the power of his mind. Huck Finn is a side character in this retelling, but a very satisfying twist ties it to the original story (genius!). Don't overthink this one, you will miss out!