The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

I know we haven't finished 2019 yet, but some of next year's candidates have already been announced, and Doug has already started his Listopia list here:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Any thoughts?

Until this morning, I had read that Mitchell's upcoming book was called "I Had the Room Above Her", but searching that title on Goodreads now takes me to "Utopia Avenue". I wonder if the first one was just a 'working title', or if it will be the title of the US edition, or....?

Wow, so many known faces in this list. And I'm so happy to see some of them that I didn't know will publish new books!

There are already several on the list I will be reading, whether they make the Booker list or not.

There was an article about the new David Mitchell in the Guardian Books Twitter feed today, which was what prompted me to start this thread.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

As long as the publishers arrange for the judges to get an embargoed copy of The Mirror and the Light under a ferocious NDA then Mantel is odds on for a hattrick.

There has been a popular TV series, but the publishers have given a date of March 2020, so they missed that trick.

Optimistic including Winds of Winter - I'm not going to hold my breath

Val wrote: "There has been a popular TV series, but the publishers have given a date of March 2020, so they missed that trick."

Yes but the longlist date is being moved to 1st March 2020 specially, and this will be known as the special Half Booker, to compensate for the Double Nobel next month.

https://thebookerprizes.com/halfbooke...

Holy cow - whether they make the list or not, that's an awesome year I'm now looking forward to more than I was 20 minutes ago. The Guardian has a big bit about David Mitchell's upcoming book yesterday or the day before. (And par for the course, all of the comments were about Mitchell & Webb, who I do love, but the Mitchell & Webb David Mitchell is known in my library catalog as "Mitchell, David-the-other-one"

Looking at Doug's list; I wonder if Starve Acre is eligible (I hope so). The author leaked it, if I'm not mistaken, earlier this year under a different name and publisher (posing as a long lost 70s novel or something). The rules are a blur to me but in any case Hurley might not be booker material.

These early lists tend to feature novels by previously listed authors and authors who have featured in other prizes. That's natural, because until people have read the books, the authors' track records is all we have to go on. But it is striking that, year after year, the lists contain a goodly number of outsiders at the expense of the famous names.

Having said that, I suspect that Hilary Mantel's reputation will carry her through, whereas people will say that David Mitchell has had plenty of bites of the cherry before and if he hasn't won by now...

At this stage there are very few (possibly no) eligible books that any of us have read, so the name is all we have to go on. The prediction polls do tend to get more interesting once some of the contenders start to get reviews.

is winds of winter confirmed for 2020???

Irene wrote: "is winds of winter confirmed for 2020???"

Nope. I think we can confirm it will be released during the 2020s if that helps.

Susanna Clarke, of Jonathan Strange Fame will be published a new book, Piranesi in September 2020 - eligible for the 2021 Booker???

I've been wondering when David Mitchell would publish another book. I like his early books better than his most recent two but wondering who will return in the next installment of his universe.

Tom wrote: "Nope. I think we can confirm it will be released during the 2020s if that helps."

Not really, but thanks anyway :)

Robert wrote: "Susanna Clarke, of Jonathan Strange Fame will be published a new book, Piranesi in September 2020 - eligible for the 2021 Booker???"

Yes, it will be unless it slips.

Going back to the discussion from the longlist thread here about thriller writer Lee Child as a likely Booker judge for 2020, there's now this article about the appeal of his books for a number of literary authors, who are fans: https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...-

Hadn't realised Julian Barnes had a new book out shortly The Man in the Red Coat as well as Graham Swift Here We Are - that's another couple of former winners.

Man in the Red Coat is apparently non-fiction, rather than a novel, according to a review I saw on here yesterday.

Barnes also says in this interview that it is non-fiction:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

Ah so it is

The River Capture feels a very strong early contender for 2020.

I knew of the “posh bingo” quote but had not previously read this article which makes very interesting reading

https://www.lrb.co.uk/v09/n20/julian-...

I ordered The River Capture based on this prediction. If I read the books throughout the year I won’t be rushing through them next Fall and this group is pretty good at guessing which books might make it.

I have a reservation on a library copy. There is a waiting list, so it is quite popular even outside this group.

It would be an interesting choice - it would have been out of place the last few years I think, very consciously literary given how heavily it is influenced by Ulysses.

Two Guardian takes


https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.th...


https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.th...

There is a rather strong link to a book on this year's list, but I mustn't mention it as the author of this year's book will get upset.

[the Joyce biography of Richard Ellmann, although I apparently wouldn't mention this if the author was male, father of Lucy, features rather heavily]

It's not so much posh bingo, more like a year-long horse race, but in which horses can enter the race at any time during the year. Incidentally, horses are mentioned several times in River Capture, and I'd suggest it's worth a fiver each-way for the shortlist. Unless of course one of the judges boasts that he's never read Ulysses, which I seem to recall happened the year Hotel du Lac won.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I admire your restraint, Paul. It’s difficult not to mention a thing that is loudly present in one’s mind. Not everyone could hide the thought in parentheses, weaker people would just type it right out front for anyone to see.

Where's a "like" button when you need one?

I added Then the Fish Swallowed Him: A Novel to the list. I *think* it's eligible and sounds quite good. I just requested it from Edelweiss. Anybody familiar with it?

It is on the HarperCollins UK site as well as the US one so it looks like it may be a simultaneous publication on both sides of the Atlantic. (It would be so much simpler if it always worked that way.)
https://www.harpercollins.co.uk/97800...

This sounds like an interesting book, but it doesn’t seem to have come to the attention of wider audience of book reviewers yet. There aren’t even GR reviews of ARCs yet. I’m eager to see what you think of it, Nicole.

It does look interesting. I wished for it on Netgalley but wishes are seldom granted.

One I’d like to read too.

So my overheard conversation was correct

Margaret Busby confirmed as Booker chair

The Lee Child rumour also proved to be true

Chair Margaret Busby

Other judges: Lee Child, Lemn Sissay, Emily Wilson, Sameer Rahim

She's the chair? awesome

https://thebookerprizes.com/booker-pr...

The panel will be chaired by Margaret Busby, editor, literary critic and former publisher; and consists of: author Lee Child; author and critic Sameer Rahim; writer and broadcaster Lemn Sissay; and classicist and translator Emily Wilson.

They have already posted the award date, 27th October 2020, that's a couple of weeks later than usual
https://thebookerprizes.com/fiction

That is late. It puts it out of Cheltenham territory which is a bit sad for me but they were not getting all the authors anyway, and sometimes only three.

Yes it was the Chair role she had been offered on the night.

I will claim some completely undeserved and purely gratuitous credit as she was looking very dubious about it after Peter Florence was trying to persuade her so I spent a few minutes in the cloakroom queue telling her she would be great and just what the prize needed!

Lee Child will be interesting. His books of the year in Guardian were a US thriller The Accomplice, Toni Morrison’s The Source of Self Regard and Elton John’s autobiography.

Well, she is a great choice, and it is always satisfying to feel that one may have contributed to something important like this.
This is such an interesting panel.

And the same Emily Wilson being discussed in the Homer thread?

Yup

That’s a rather nice Mookse link.

The book world is just TOO small. I often say my field is very incestuous (it feels like we all know each other & studied under each other), and I'm starting to feel like literature is similar in many cases. I'm glad it's broadening out.

Margaret Busby is a great choice, and she has a new book to sell, which you all should get anyway b/c it's wonderful. I'm not surprised that IF she was ever going to do it, now seems a good time. Bravo Paul - well done.

I do have to wonder what the conversations between these judges are going to be like though. I don't know much at all about Lemn Sissay, but the discussions, as always would be awesome if we could hear them. (I am wondering most about Lee Child, but purely b/c of some things I've read through the years about what he thinks is great fiction.)

Apparently I have just heard that the conversation last October between Gaby Wood and Helena Kennedy last year went something like this

GW - (Sigh) they are still insisting that they can’t pick a single winner

HK - Why. The rules are clear.

GW - They say it’s too difficult to pick one from six.

HK - Really? How hard is it? Even a child could do it!

GW - Now that’s give me an idea for next year’s judges.