BOTM: P. Barker, The Ghost Road
P. Barker, The Eye in the Door
E.M. Brent-Dyer, A princess at the Chalet School
A.S. Byatt, On histories and stories
T. Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
J. Huley, A matter of taste: a history of wine drinking in England
O. Jones, The Establishment
T. Capote, Breakfast at Tiffany's
J. Huley, A matter of taste: a history of wine drinking in England
O. Jones, The Establishment
A. Leckie, Ancillary justice
S. Middleton, Holiday
H. Saberi, Tea: A global history
H. Saberi, Tea: A global history
Despite a strong showing from Leckie's multigarlanded science fiction debut, only one author was going to win BOTM. I did have some difficulty choosing which one, but - like the Booker judges - I came down on the final volume of the Regeneration trilogy. It's exquisitely done. I read them at the time, but hadn't remembered very about them. Perhaps I was too young. Nonetheless, they are pretty much pitch perfect in their recreation of a very specific slice of the War, and the real and fictional blending is done very well indeed. It's also much softer on the heartbreak than it could be. The deaths aren't melodramatic, but just sad. I think that makes it a cut above those novels that hammer home the point. It's superior in most other ways too.
