ManBookering discussion

Put your predictions for what will be in the Men Booker International Longlist

...and please vote on the poll (and add eligible books that you suspect might be on the list):

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Let's see how much we can get right! :-)

Wrong link I think - that's the main booker - this one for MBI

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Meike wrote: "...and please vote on the poll (and add eligible books that you suspect might be on the list):

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Let's see how much we can ..."

Yes! I love predictions (although I always get everything wrong). But just to clarify: the goodreads-list you've linked is for the 2018 Manbooker Prize. The list for the Man Booker International Prize can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1.... And it has only 69 books, so I'm sure we can add some :-)

I've been in somewhat of a reading slump lately, so I'm really not up on many new releases, so my longlist is based off synopses and reviews. Anyway, the books I'd actualy like to see are
The Gurugu Pledge by Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel
The White Book by Han Kang
Insane by Reinald Goetz
Unrest by Yeng Pway Ngon
The Devil's Dance by Hamid Ismailov
Go, Went, Gone by Jenny Erpenbeck
The House with the Stained-Glass Window by Zanna Slaniowska
The Rehearsals by Vladimir Sharov
and just to make a full 13, I'll add
Flights by Olga Tocarczuk
Return to the Dark Valley by Santiago Gamboa
The Impostor by Javier Cercas
Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash by Eka Kurniawan
Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba

Paul wrote: "Wrong link I think - that's the main booker - this one for MBI..."

Britta wrote: "Yes! I love predictions (although I always get everything wrong). But just to clarify:..."

Ooopsi, sorry and thanks for inserting the correct link, guys! And hey, people on this thread: Just vote on both polls! :-)

Incidentally on that list Antonomasia has done the hard work of getting an initial list together - having added books from a small number of publishers myself, it really is rather time consuming, looking through the catalogues / websites and checking the eligibility criteria (e.g. publication date, published in UK, author and translator alive). If anyone does get the chance to add more books, respecting the criteria, that would be great - last year's list had 150 or so, so there must be a lot missing.

Books by Americans should qualify for the MBI instead of the main one.

Sean wrote: "Books by Americans should qualify for the MBI instead of the main one."

Only if it's originally written in a language other than English, then translated into English :)

Maxwell wrote: "Sean wrote: "Books by Americans should qualify for the MBI instead of the main one."

Only if it's originally written in a language other than English, then translated into English :)"

There have certainly been a number of books in recent years on the Booker that I wished had been translated from American into English!

The Longlist was announced this afternoon:

Laurent Binet (France), Sam Taylor, The 7th Function of Language (Harvill Secker)

Javier Cercas (Spain), Frank Wynne, The Impostor (MacLehose Press)

Virginie Despentes (France), Frank Wynne, Vernon Subutex, 1 (MacLehose Press)

Jenny Erpenbeck (Germany), Susan Bernofsky, Go, Went, Gone (Portobello Books)

Han Kang (South Korea), Deborah Smith, The White Book (Portobello Books)

Ariana Harwicz (Argentina), Sarah Moses & Carolina Orloff, Die, My Love (Charco Press)

László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), John Batki, Ottilie Mulzet & George Szirtes, The World Goes On (Tuskar Rock Press)

Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain), Camilo A. Ramirez, Like a Fading Shadow (Tuskar Rock Press)

Christoph Ransmayr (Austria), Simon Pare, The Flying Mountain (Seagull Books)

Ahmed Saadawi (Iraq), Jonathan Wright, Frankenstein in Baghdad (Oneworld)

Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), Jennifer Croft, Flights (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Wu Ming-Yi (Taiwan), Darryl Sterk, The Stolen Bicycle (Text Publishing)

Gabriela Ybarra (Spain), Natasha Wimmer, The Dinner Guest (Harvill Secker)

Is it just me, or is the longlist getting more ‘Europe-heavy’ each year? Only one book from South America, nothing from Africa, China, Japan or Russia.

Not sure it is more Europe heavy - we get Korea Taiwan, Iraq and Argentina - but it certainly is still too Euro heavy and not becoming any less so.

I also noticed the lack of African authors. France and Spain alone have 5 books coming from them! I am rather pleased though to see Taiwan make an appearance.

For info this is the response of the Shadow Jury of bloggers and reviewers (of which I am part):

https://tonysreadinglist.wordpress.co...

Monday saw the announcement of the longlist for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, and our Shadow Panel would like to begin by thanking the official judges for the effort they have expended on poring over all of the submitted titles to come up with a final baker's/Booker dozen of works. This year's selection is an intriguing mix of familiar faces and new discoveries, with two former winners in Han Kang and László Krasznahorkai returning (three if, like us, you include Jenny Erpenbeck's win in the final edition of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize) alongside several writers new to Anglophone readers. As always, we extend our hearty thanks to the translators who make it all possible, with particular praise going to Frank Wynne for his feat in having two works make the longlist - in different languages, too.

This year's choices hail from ten different countries, but (as is often the case) the majority come from Europe, reflecting perhaps the nature of the submitted titles. With three Spanish titles (and one from Argentina) selected, just eight languages account for the entire longlist; again, while it would be nice to have more diversity, it is highly likely that the majority of books entered were originally written in the major European languages.

One pleasing development in this year's prize, though, is an increase in the number of female authors represented on the longlist. Six of the thirteen books were written by women, while there are seven female translators among the fifteen whose work has been honoured. It will be interesting to see what those numbers look like when the shortlist appears.

We were also interested to see a number of smaller presses rewarded for their work over the past year. While 'small' is a relative term in publishing, there can be little doubt that Charco Press and Fitzcarraldo Editions fit that description, and we are happy to see their work highlighted. Both MacLehose Press and Portobello Books continue to rack up longlist nominations, and Oneworld Publications have once again presented a strong contender in their bid to add the international Booker trophy to their two English-language wins.

In terms of books selected, few were surprised that The White Book, Go, Went, Gone, The World Goes On and Frankenstein in Baghdad made the cut, and most of the titles are familiar. However, there are a few books that we were not aware of, and we look forward to finding out more about them in the coming weeks. Perhaps more interesting, though, are some of the omissions. The Shadow Panel had its own deliberations over the past week, coming up with a list with many similarities to the official version. Books we considered, but which failed to make the official cut, include Nora Ikstena's Soviet Milk (translated by Margita Gailitis: Peirene Press), Rainald Goetz's Insane (tr. Adrian Nathan West: Fitzcarraldo Editions) and Lina Meruane's Seeing Red (tr. Megan McDowell: Atlantic Books). All of these are fit to have graced the longlist, and we are a little sad to see them left out.

However, if there is one title that we are surprised not to see included, it has to be Andrés Barba's Such Small Hands (tr. Lisa Dillman: Portobello Books). A superb take on the darkness hidden in the world of children, this was one of our certainties, and we were sorely tempted to call it in for our own longlist (which would have been only the second book we have done this for). However (wrongly or rightly), after much discussion we decided to place our trust in the official judges and stay with the thirteen titles they decided upon, reserving our judgement until we have read the books they deemed better than Barba's short novel. Should all thirteen longlisted titles prove to be worthy finalists, then we will applaud the judges' decision...

...but that is something to discuss in a month's time...

Shortlist announced: http://themanbookerprize.com/internat...

An here the six books on the shortlist:

(1) Virginie Despentes (France), Frank Wynne, Vernon Subutex 1 (MacLehose Press)

(2) Han Kang (South Korea), Deborah Smith, The White Book (Portobello Books)

(3) László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), John Batki, Ottilie Mulzet & George Szirtes, The World Goes On (Tuskar Rock Press)

(4) Antonio Muñoz Molina (Spain), Camilo A. Ramirez, Like a Fading Shadow (Tuskar Rock Press)

(5) Ahmed Saadawi (Iraq), Jonathan Wright, Frankenstein in Baghdad (Oneworld)

(6) Olga Tokarczuk (Poland), Jennifer Croft, Flights (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Only 5 more days... Next Tuesday the MBI winner will be announced. So: time for predictions!

I hope Olga Tokarczuk wins but my money is on Vernon Subutex.

You are right with both your hope and your prediction (which for me is a fear).

I had the pleasure of meeting the translator of each book tonight at Foyles. I mostly talked to Frank Wynne about The Impostor rather than Vernon but he did give me a Vernon Subutex promotional t-shirt.

well I say me, I actually told him I knew Vernon's number 1 fan Meike and I owed her an apology so he gave me a t-shirt to give to her.

I hope Vernon wins

I thought Frankenstein would win (and it's a great book indeed), but I am starting to believe that Vernon Subutex might actually make it - and, as Paul says, that would be like Christmas for me! :-) But even if Despentes loses, I will proudly wear this t-shirt - thanks, Paul and Frank Wynne!!!

I would love to see Flights win but I did quite enjoy Vernon Subutex. Of the four that I read, Frankenstein in Baghdad was the most disappointing.

Interesting article from various MBI translators on their favourite untranslatable word from the books
http://mentalfloss.com/article/544537...

The Shadow Panel of bloggers and book reviewers have announced our collective verdict:

It's been ten weeks since the Man Booker International Prize longlist was announced, and in that time the Shadow Panel has been working away in the background, reading frantically while discussing the merits and flaws of the selected titles. From the thirteen books we were given by the official judges, we chose a shortlist of six (only two of which made the official cut!), and off we set again, to reread as much as possible in the time we had left. Then, we discussed the books a little more before voting for our favourites, culminating in the choice of our favourite work of translated fiction from the previous year's crop. And who might that be?

THE WINNER OF THE 2018 SHADOW MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE IS:
OLGA TOKARCZUK'S FLIGHTS
(FITZCARRALDO EDITIONS, TRANSLATED BY JENNIFER CROFT)

Congratulations to all involved! While not a unanimous decision, Flights easily won the majority of votes from our judges. In fact, in the seven years we've been shadowing the prizes (IFFP, then MBIP), this was the clearest winner by far, showing how impressed we were by Tokarczuk's integration of seemingly disparate pieces into a mesmerising whole. Thanks must also go to Croft for her excellent work on the book - as always, it's only with the help of the translator that we're able to read this book at all.

A special mention should also go to Fitzcarraldo Editions. This is their second consecutive MBIP Shadow Prize, as we selected Mathias Énard's Compass as our winner for 2017; they have proved to be one of the UK's rising stars of fiction (and non-fiction) in translation.

Good choice!

Yesssss!

It'd be fun if a book no-one was expecting to win won. Say, Like a fading shadow... :p
That being said, I hope Olga Tokarczuk gets it.

Munoz Molina was very eloquent tonight talking about the book. I think it is a good book, it is just so similar to The Impostor which was better.

And Flights also takes the official prize!

Cool! Very happy about that.

I was an ABV so more relieved than pleased.

Delighted that Flights won! The MBI-judges, @Neil, @Paul and me in agreement! Thats a first!