ManBookering discussion
50 Years of Man Booker Novels: What have you learned from them?
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As we celebrate 50 years of the Man Booker Prize, what would be your Top Ten Man Booker Winners?
More importantly, what lessons have you learned from those great novels?
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My Top Ten winners list (in no particular order):
Troubles by J.G. Farrell
The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis
Possession by A.S. Byatt
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
Heat and Dust by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
And just for fun, my top ten short-listers (also in no particular order):
Waterland by Graham Swift
Earthly Powers by Anthony Burgess
Quarantine by Jim Crace
The Master by Colm Tóibín
Remembering Babylon by David Malouf
Ending Up by Kingsley Amis
Nice Work by David Lodge
Illywhacker by Peter Carey
What's Bred in the Bone by Robertson Davies
Atonement by Ian McEwan
I know I'm cheating with Troubles. Technically, it won the "Lost Booker," but for me that still counts.
And honestly, what I've learned from reading all these novels? What I've learned is that English is such an extraordinary language. Over and over again, that is what I have learned.

My Top Ten winners list (in no particular order):
Troubles by J.G. Farrell..."
Hi!
This is a fascinating list. Great to see J.G. Farrell here.

My top ten in no particular order are:
Possession
The Sea
Lincoln in the Bardo
The Luminaries
The God of Small Things
The Sellout
Vernon God Little
The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Hotel du Lac
The Bone People
I’ve learnt that language, style and structure can never be static: they are going to keep being gloriously, boldly and subtly played with by different writers in different places. That delicious gift of actively observing creativity keeps on making me happy - what a thing to keep relearning!
Books mentioned in this topic
Troubles (other topics)Troubles (other topics)
The Old Devils (other topics)
Possession (other topics)
Midnight’s Children (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
J.G. Farrell (other topics)J.G. Farrell (other topics)
Kingsley Amis (other topics)
A.S. Byatt (other topics)
Salman Rushdie (other topics)
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As we celebrate 50 years of the Man Booker Prize, what would be your Top Ten Man Booker Winners?
More importantly, what lessons have you learned from those great novels?
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