The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Usual rules apply - one entry per person, please avoid general chat. These were the six books:

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
Quarantine by Jim Crace
The Underground Man by Mick Jackson
Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty
Europa by Tim Parks
The Essence of the Thing by Madeleine St John

League tables

My adjusted weightings method:

Pos, Book, Average, Adjusted, Count, First Places, STD
1, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, 1.75, 1.13, 8, 5, 0.45
2, Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty, 2.00, 1.25, 6, 1, 0.36
3, The Underground Man by Mick Jackson, 3.40, 2.40, 5, 0, 0.57
4, Quarantine by Jim Crace, 3.60, 2.60, 5, 0, 0.65
5, Europa by Tim Parks, 4.40, 3.40, 5, 1, 0.85
6, The Essence of the Thing by Madeleine St John, 4.00, 3.63, 8, 1, 1.03

Paul-style aggregate of comparisons

Pos, Book, Average, Relative ranking, Count, First Places
1, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, 1.75, 19, 8, 5
2, Grace Notes by Bernard MacLaverty, 2.00, 13, 6, 1
3, The Underground Man by Mick Jackson, 3.40, -1, 5, 0
4, Quarantine by Jim Crace, 3.60, -3, 5, 0
5, Europa by Tim Parks, 4.40, -12, 5, 1
6, The Essence of the Thing by Madeleine St John, 4.00, -16, 8, 1

1 Grace Notes
2 The God of Small Things
3 Quarantine
4 The Underground Man
5 The Essence of the Thing
6 Europa

The links are to my reviews.

1 The Essence of the Thing

I can safely say this has been the least inspiring short list I have read for any book prize ever.

1 The God of Small Things - 3*
(https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
2 Grace Notes - 3* (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
3 Underground Man - 2* (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
4 The Essence of the Thing - 2* (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
5 Europa (2*) (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)
6 Quarantine (based on conception)

1 Europa
3 The God of Small Things (although 20 years since I read it so I don't remember a thing, but I seem to recall liking it)
5 The Essence of the Thing

2. The Underground Man
--
4. The God of Small Things

1. The God of Small Things
2.
3.
4.

1. The God of Small Things
2. Grace Notes
3. The Essence of the Thing

1.
2.
3. Essence of Things

This must surely go down as the worst Booker shortlist ever. At least, I hope so.

Here's my list for the purposes of this poll:

1. The God of Small Things (3.5*)
2. Quarantine (3*)
3. Grace Notes (3*)
4. Europa (3*)
5. The Underground Man (2*)
6. The Essence of the Thing (1*)

Here's my list for the purposes of how I feel about the books:

5. The God of Small Things (3.5*)
6. Quarantine (3*)
6. Grace Notes (3*)
6. Europa (3*)
6. The Underground Man (2*)
6. The Essence of the Thing (1*)

1. The God of Small Things

2. Grace Notes
3. Quarantine

Cforgot all about this.

1. The God of Small Things.
2. Grace Notes
3. The Underground Man
4. Quarantine ( did not finish)
5, The Essence of the Thing
6. Europa

Of the above I appreciated Grace Notes most technically, enjoyed reading Underground Man most, disliked my reread of God of Small Things , and hated Europa for the narcissism and sexism.