2009 Booker longlist

Posted by Kevin Peterson, 3 years ago

The Booker longlist is now out -- not a single Canadian title and only one of the books (The Glass Room) which I had touted previously. Here's a link to the list: www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1252

More observations to come.

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Red Dog, Red Dog by Patrick Lane

Posted by Kevin Peterson, 3 years ago

While this book was published in Canada last year (and a number of us were disappointed when it was not Giller short-listed), it was only published in the UK this spring -- which makes it Booker eligible this year. A number of readers there have been very positive about it. So if you missed it last year, Red Dog, Red Dog may well be worth a visit.

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Some opening thoughts

Posted by Kevin Peterson, 3 years ago

Here are a few of my favorites so far:

1. The Glass Room, by Simon Mawer. A modernist house in Czechoslovakia is the centrepiece of this novel.
2. The Holy City, by Patrick McCabe. An exploration of modern Ireland from the viewpoint of an aging man.
3. Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie. A "widescreen" novel that starts in Nagasaki, moves on to Delhi and Pakistan and ends up in New York.

Some Canadian contenders:
1. The Winter Vault, by Anne Michaels. Didn't serve my tastes, but might serve yours.
2. Through Black Spruce, by Joseph Boyden. Last year's Giller winner is Booker-eligible this year.
3. The Outlander, by Gil Adamson. An interesting book with a growing reputation.

Extended reviews of all can be found at my blog -- www.kevinfromcanada.wordpress.com -- and your thoughts on these and others are welcome here.

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