2013 Bookerthon

Novels of note are often a response to societal influences. Either what happens in the world and how humanity responds to it, or bringing light to events of years past to reveal hidden truths. Readers respond to societal and cultural references they recognise, and placing a barometer upon them to understand the level of importance others place upon them is an important exercise in awareness.

This year we responded to the Man Booker shortlist with such cognisance and felt we understood a little more about the world at large.

The Lowland has an engaging composition about life in Calcutta and the riots that swept the nation when US tanks rolled in. We learn about the tracks two Indian brothers take, with some shocking outcomes. A Tale For The Time Being is an epic story about a shared humanity between a woman who finds a diary washed up on the beach and its author, after the 2011 tsunami. Harvest is an historically important consideration about effects of modernisation on the agricultural sector. We Need New Names is a tear-jerker, about a young girl trying to escape the violence of Zimbabwe to start a new life in the US. The Luminaries is a mystery set in the goldfields of Hokitika and portrays an accurate portrayal of the mid-nineteenth-century gold rush in New Zealand. The Testament Of Mary is a unique take on one of the oldest stories in history – the mother-son relationship between Jesus Christ and his mother Mary.

Confession, neither of us have finished The Luminaries – it is 800-odd pages and quite indepth in a number of ways, so not something to rush. Despite this we are both overwhelmingly in the belief this will win this year.

All the other shortlisters have commendable attributes and we were really pleased to have discovered them, but The Luminaries has the plot, the characters, the metaphorical depth and the epic scope.

So, in the end, we just have to say: Go Kiwi!

Best book 1st-6th: Suzy:
The Luminaries
Harvest
We Need New Names
The Lowland
A Tale For The Time Being
The Testament of Mary

Best book 1st-6th: Rachel:
The Luminaries
The Lowland
A Tale For The Time Being
Harvest
We Need New Names
The Testament Of Mary

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