The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind
Ecco / HarperCollins Publishers

Christopher Beha, The Index of Self-Destructive Acts
Tin House Books

Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half
Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House

Randall Kenan, If I Had Two Wings (short stories)
W. W. Norton & Company

Megha Majumdar, A Burning
Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House

Lydia Millet, A Children's Bible
W. W. Norton & Company

Deesha Philyaw, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies (short stories)
West Virginia University Press

Douglas Stuart, Shuggie Bain
Grove Press / Grove Atlantic

Vanessa Veselka, The Great Offshore Grounds
Alfred A. Knopf / Penguin Random House

Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown
Pantheon Books / Penguin Random House

A Shuggie Booker - National Book Awards double?

Wow, this is a surprising but compelling list.

Can you say more about the books. I have only heard of (and read) two of them.

Now the list is in the header so you aren't commenting on an empty space any more.

Paul wrote: "A Shuggie Booker - National Book Awards double?"

Would v much expect the Booker to be awarded to a PoC author this year.

Paul wrote: "A Shuggie Booker - National Book Awards double?"

If Stuart wins the prize, would you classify him as an American win or a British win?

American for this award as he wouldn't be eligible otherwise!

If he wins the The National Book Critics Circle Award then the question is trickier

Paul wrote: "American for this award as he wouldn't be eligible otherwise!"

No I mean if he wins the Booker...

The nod to Kenan is nice, and I like that the other short stories collection is Philyaw which makes a nice pairing. The biggest thrill is Shuggie. Four of the novels were books I considered but rejected in favor of other books, but because I did not have an interest, not because of their quality. I guess for most, the surprise or disappointment would be that Jack was left off? Aside from Vanishing Half, I had none of these planned and since my reading list is overwhelmed, I will not make any changes, preferring to stick with translated fiction or books I had previously scheduled.

For me the biggest shock is that Transcendent Kingdom was left off. But I like the mix this year between short stories and novels, small and large presses, commercial and literary fiction. I haven't read many of them, though.

Ideally I’d like to read all ten but I’ll settle for the winner

I’ve read four so far: Vanishing Half was very good. I was expecting it or Shadow King to be longlisted for the Booker.

A Children’s Bible was also very good- Millet’s writing style is engaging, and she pays attention to characters, plot and pacing, as well as having a message. This wasn’t as religious as the GR blurb sounds, more of a New Wilderness meets Lord of the Flies.

Shuggie stole my heart- he’ll be hard to beat, but the judges will probably choose something else because of the Booker shortlisting.

The real hidden gem here is Interior Chinatown. I highly recommend it- it mixes humor into some very serious issues. The audio was fantastic.

One thing I like about the NBA is how the judges pull in books that may have flown under the radar normally. I’m looking forward to reading several of these.

Anton, thank you for setting up this list with the helpful links. Wanting to learn more about a few books, it was sad to see that one of the longlisted authors, Randall Kenan, died less than a month ago.

Which if it were the Booker would actually disqualify his book (can’t believe they would actually do that in practice but the rules allow them to) whereas for NBA authors/translators need to be alive at the start of the eligibility period ie Dec 2019.

Took the list to the local independent bookstore this morning (sidewalk shopping only) and they only had 2 of the 10, so bought them (supporting local shop). Bought 4 in Audible (1 pre-order) given the short time for reading and the other 3 for Kindle. Only one I've read is Shuggie but there are not back breaker sized ones, so should be able, with diligence, to read 9 before the shortlist. All look interesting, especially the two short story books.

Welcome to the group, BookMonkey! Hope to see more of you here.

BookMonkey wrote: "For me the biggest shock is that Transcendent Kingdom was left off. But I like the mix this year between short stories and novels, small and large presses, commercial and literary fiction. I haven'..."

I agree - this list made me happy. Also - welcome!

Here's a note from the NYTimes on the books: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/18/bo...

I am busily reading the long list. I had read only Shuggie Bain before the announcement. I've completed 3 others now and have to second Tracy's comment: The real hidden gem here is Interior Chinatown. I highly recommend it- it mixes humor into some very serious issues. The audio was fantastic. There's a good bit of satire in this book that addresses serious issues. I'm still mulling how to write my review. I would call it somewhat experimental in style. The audiobook even has a few discrete sound effects.

Shortlist:

●“Leave the World Behind,” Rumaan Alam (Ecco) (review)

●“A Children’s Bible,” by Lydia Millet (W.W. Norton) (review)

●“The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” by Deesha Philyaw (West Virginia Univ. Press )

●“Shuggie Bain,” by Douglas Stuart (Grove) (review)

●“Interior Chinatown,” by Charles Yu (Pantheon)

I would have liked to see Kenan and there will be be some who are sorry that Vanishing Half or The Great Offshore Grovunds didn't advance but Shuggie dances on.

Dancing with abandon, taking big mouthfuls of lager out of old tea mugs.

He nodded, all gallus, and spun, just the once, on his polished heels.

I think we are due for someone to start putting their foot out to trip Shuggie. Finalist Booker Awards
Finalist NBA
Finalist Kirkus Award
Finalist First Novel Prize

I'm going to predict it won't be on the Goldsmiths tomorrow night

I read The Secret Lives of Church Ladies and would read more ofDeesha Philyaw.

A Children's Bible has changed my life in the way some books do -- not dramatically, but by turning my thinking on some things around.

I read a previous book by Rumaan Alam and unless you tell me this one is incredible, i'll pass.

I’m so happy to see Interior Chinatown on the shortlist. It deserves it- there’s so much neatly packed into it, for the length of the book. I’ll start on the Alam later this week, since it’s just out in the US today.

I've read them all - the 10 books on the long list. I finished yesterday. Couldn't finish before the short list was announced because Leave the World Behind was not published until the day the short list was announced. I got it in audio, though, so was able to immediately start. Below is my ranking of the long list in the order I ranked them. The shortlist surprises me only by the inclusion of Leave the World Burning. I predicted The Vanishing Half would make the short list. I did not think Shuggie Bain would make the shortlist, as much as I liked it, because it was not an American experience. I thought The Great Offshore Grounds would be the poverty book on the short list. Plus, it was my favorite of the 10 on the long list.

1. The Great Offshore Grounds - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
3. Interior Chinatown - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
4. Shuggie Bain - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
5. A Children's Bible - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. If I Had Two Wings - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. The Vanishing Half - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. A Burning - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9. The Index of Self-Destructive Acts - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
10. Leave the World Behind - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Winner Interior Chinatown Tracy gets the call.

I'm so happy about this win. It wasn't my favorite book of the year, but it's a delightful book, and I'm tickled that something so experimental in form has won.

Sam wrote: "Winner Interior Chinatown Tracy gets the call."

Charles Yu was just so enchanting, I want to see him again. I love books and authors -- this was a good way to settle down after work.

A deserving winner. There were some excellent books on this year's list and Yu's was among the best.

I’m so happy this book gets the recognition it deserves! Woohoo!

I really must get round to that one. Sounds my type of book.