The Free-Range Bookclub
Bookclubbers without boundaries in Nelson, New Zealand
Category: Booker Prize
2011 – Bookerthon
A year in the life of a Booker judge must be such a challenge. What is the best book of the year? Is it one that represents the past 12 months on a global scale? Is it one that tackles serious topics, or one… Continue Reading “2011 – Bookerthon”
Pigeon English – Stephan Kelman
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Ghana migrant Harrison Opoku unbalances the hierarchical balance in his community when he speaks out about the murder of school mate. ✔ “Harri Opoku is 11 years old when he moves from Ghana to a London housing estate with his mother and sister.… Continue Reading “Pigeon English – Stephan Kelman”
Jamrach’s Menagerie – Carol Birch
READ FOR BOOKERTHON Eight-year-old Jaffy Brown escapes the Victorian slums and sets sail for a better life. ✔ A 19th Century street urchin named Jaffy Brown is at the heart of his book. In search of a better life, he works for Mr Charles Jamrach,… Continue Reading “Jamrach’s Menagerie – Carol Birch”
Snowdrops – A D Miller
READ FOR BOOKERTHON British lawyer Nick is seduced by the dangerous Masha while working in Moscow and ends up finding himself buried in secrets. ✔ Nicholas is a single, 38-year-old British lawyer working for banks lending money to Russian corporations. His time in Moscow is… Continue Reading “Snowdrops – A D Miller”
Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan
READ FOR BOOKERTHON In 1940s France a black cabaret singer disappears. Fifty years on, one of his bandmates, Sid, embarks on a journey to discover Hieronymous’s fate. ✔ “Hiero is African German and a member of a jazz band in pre-war Berlin. The Nazis ban… Continue Reading “Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan”
Back Booker 2002
Time for another Back Booker and this time we’ve focused on 2002. A year with a kind of seriousness about it. Though not in a moralistic or melancholy kind of way, rather the authors have demonstrated the impact of significant themes and topics with… Continue Reading “Back Booker 2002”
2010 Bookerthon
We may not have been doing Bookerthon for long enough to comment as such, nor have the relevant degrees or analytical background to offer such thoughts, but … we weren’t blown away by the shortlist this year. Not to say we didn’t enjoy (some… Continue Reading “2010 Bookerthon”
The Long Song – Andrea Levy
READ FOR BOOKERTHON The story of July, a Jamaican slave who witnesses both the atrocities and abolition of slavery You do not know me yet. My son Thomas, who is publishing this book, tells me, it is customary at this place in a novel… Continue Reading “The Long Song – Andrea Levy”
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