Category: Booker Prize

The Famished Road – Ben Okri

READ FOR BOOKCLUB Chosen by Becks In this 1991 Booker winner, the narrator, Azaro, is a spirit child struggling between the tensions of the living and the temptations of the carefree spirit kingdom. We must look at ourselves differently. We are freer than we think. We… Continue Reading “The Famished Road – Ben Okri”

2016 Bookerthon

In a year in which many established authors and their highly anticipated books (McEwan, Coetzee, Barnes, Tremain to name a few) didn’t make the shortlist, nor the longlist some of them, we were expecting big things from the 2016 Man Booker. We hadn’t even… Continue Reading “2016 Bookerthon”

His Bloody Project – Graeme Macrae Burnett

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Roderick Macrae admits to a triple murder in a remote Scottish community in 1869. A memoir written by Macrae makes it clear he is guilty but it’s up to the police and courts to try and uncover his motive. A memoir… Continue Reading “His Bloody Project – Graeme Macrae Burnett”

Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien

READ FOR BOOKERTHON From inside an extended Chinese family, Do Not Say We Have Nothing examines two of the most important political moments of China’s past century: Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. ➤ “This is historical fiction written authentically… Continue Reading “Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien”

All That Man Is – David Szalay

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Nine men, each at a different stage of life, each of them away from home, try to understand what it means to be alive. A examination of the male experience from the spring of youth to the winter of old age.… Continue Reading “All That Man Is – David Szalay”

Eileen – Ottessa Moshfegh

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Eileen Dunlop is an unassuming yet disturbed young woman trapped between her role as her alcoholic father’s caretaker in a home of squalor and her day job as a secretary at a Boston boys’ prison. A character study of a lonely… Continue Reading “Eileen – Ottessa Moshfegh”

Hot Milk – Deborah Levy

READ FOR BOOKERTHON Sofia, a young anthropologist, spends much of her life trying to solve the mystery of her mother’s unexplainable illness. A trip to Southern Spain to see a specialist allows her to consider her own desires and plans for the future.  ➤… Continue Reading “Hot Milk – Deborah Levy”

The Sellout – Paul Beatty

READ FOR BOOKERTHON In a bid to reinstate his hometown on the map, the narrator in this American satire initiates the most outrageous action conceivable: reinstating slavery and segregating the local high school which lands him in the Supreme Court. ➤ “I honestly started… Continue Reading “The Sellout – Paul Beatty”

2015 Bookerthon

For Bookerthon 2015 we have ventured to beautiful Northland to complete our reading and discussion of the six eclectic books that make up this year’s shortlist. With Suzy having moved out of Nelson (sob!) we felt we needed to be in the same location… Continue Reading “2015 Bookerthon”

Satin Island – Tom McCarthy

READ FOR BOOKERTHON U, a corporate anthropologist, spends his days procrastinating over endless buffer-zones of information and becoming obsessed by images of the world. ❍ “It’s difficult to describe this book. It’s almost as if it doesn’t have a plot, rather it is made… Continue Reading “Satin Island – Tom McCarthy”