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In the world of the Booker Prizes this week: books for Wes Anderson fans, books about India written by women, unlikely fictional friendships, books of short stories, and more!
10 Booker-nominated books for fans of Wes Anderson
If you were to write a checklist of what makes Wes Anderson’s films so distinctive, it would have to include: eccentric oddballs, tragicomic adventures set in whimsical locations… and books.
If you’re a fan of his movies – and with The Phoenician Scheme opening in cinemas around the world – we think you’ll love these Anderson-esque Booker-nominated novels. Among their pages, you’ll find precocious children and dysfunctional parents, labyrinthine murder mysteries and quirky crime capers, teenage angst and sibling rivalries, awkward love stories and, of course, plenty of aesthetically pleasing objects.
The best Booker-nominated books about India, written by women
Last week (was it really only last week?), Heart Lamp became the second book by an Indian author to win the International Booker Prize – as well as the first by an Indian translator, and the first originally written in Kannada.
Banu Mushtaq also joins a distinguished list of women writers whose books about India have been nominated for – or have won – the Booker or International Booker Prize. Inspired by Heart Lamp, we have compiled a selection of nominated works by those authors, among them Arundhati Roy, Geetanjali Shree, Anita Desai, Jhumpa Lahiri and more.
10 Booker-nominated books that feature unlikely friendships
Close friendships can grow out of the strangest of circumstances and between people who, on the surface, have nothing in common. Whether formed due to a shared traumatic history, a unique mutual interest or a bizarre and intense encounter, some relationships can’t be explained.
Unlikely friendships can also form the basis of fascinating works of fiction, as the Booker-nominated books on this list demonstrate. Regardless of biology, backgrounds or beliefs, these books prove that true friendship knows no bounds.
11 of the best books of short stories from the Booker Library
With Heart Lamp becoming the first collection of short stories to win the International Booker Prize, we felt it was time to showcase the best books of stories that have been nominated for our two prizes over the years – including a few that could also be classified as novels.
And while the stories listed here may be short, they aren’t entirely sweet – from haunting tales of the supernatural to depictions of misfits on society’s fringes, they encompass all facets of the human experience, from the absurd to the horrific.
12 of the best Booker-nominated novels for Pride Month
It’s noteworthy that, in recent years, the Booker Prize has often been awarded to novels whose central characters are lesbian, gay, bisexual or non-binary. Sometimes these characters’ sexualities are integral to the plot, as they face both direct and institutionalised homophobia. Sometimes it’s simply another facet of their identity. Some characters proudly declare their sexuality, while others keep it an uncomfortable secret.
To mark the start of Pride Month, we’ve searched through the Booker archives to select a dozen books that testify to the range of these experiences. From recently listed titles to older fiction, the novels in this list highlight compelling representations of the struggle for equality and honest expressions of selfhood, capturing a wide spectrum of queer life.
Have you read this year’s International Booker Prize winner? Which Booker-nominated books are on your TBR pile? Let us know in the comments.
Just finished Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. It was a heartbreaking novel and deeply disturbing but I am glad I read it, especially as we are experiencing the devastating effects of the Trump administration on our communities of immigrants.
Thanks so much for this post. I just bought a copy of “Heart Lamp” by Banu Mushtag. I can’t wait to read it.