The Booker Prize winner is being announced in just over a week! We have loved reading the books from the shortlist and have some recommendations if you are stuck choosing which one to read.
Audition by Katie Kitamura
Two competing narratives unspooling, rewriting our understanding of the roles we play every day—partner, parent, creator, muse—and the truths every performance masks, especially from those who think they know us best. Read this if you liked; Stag Dance by Torrey Peters, The Names by Florence Knapp and The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft.
Flesh by David Szalay
A collection of intimate moments over the course of decades, Flesh chronicles a man at odds with himself—estranged from and by the circumstances and demands of a life not entirely under his control and the roles that he is asked to play. Read this if you liked: Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico, Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen and Stoner by John Williams.
Flashlight by Susan Choi
Shifting perspectives across time and character and turning back again and again to one night by the sea, Flashlight chases the shock waves of one family’s catastrophe, even as they are swept up in the invisible currents of history. Read this if you liked: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and Human Acts by Han Kang.
The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller
One of the coldest winters on record grips England in a never-ending frost and as the country is enveloped in a thick, soft, unmoving layer of snow, two couples find themselves cut off from the rest of the world. Without the small distractions of everyday existence, suddenly old tensions and shocking new discoveries threaten to change the course of their lives forever. Read this if you liked: The Party by Tessa Hadley, The Boy from the Sea by Garrett Carr and Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst.
The Rest of Our Lives by Ben Markovits
What’s left when your kids grow up and leave home? An unforgettable road trip novel, The Rest of Our Lives beautifully explores the nuance and complications of a long term marriage. Read this if you liked: Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner, All Fours by Miranda July and Stone Yard Devotional by Charlotte Wood.
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny is the sweeping tale of two young people navigating the many forces that shape their country, class, race, history, and the complicated bonds that link one generation to the next. Read this if you liked: A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak.