T. McCarthy, Satin Island
C. Obioma, The fishermen
S. Sahota, The year of the runaways
A. Tyler, A spool of blue thread
So, I've read the Booker shortlist (almost). I'm part way through the final one. I think, so far, the judges were right (incidentally, I've found myself having to defend in argument the value of judges opinions quite a lot when I mention this, of which more later). I don't think it's a vintage year. James' work is powerful, but the disjointedness is hard to manage, and the judges (and I) may well have been influenced by the fact that very few people know very much about Jamaican history at all. It is hard going, and not at all brief. I think the same attended Obioma, which is much weaker. Anne Tyler was excellent as ever, but in the same way as ever. Sahota was good, but I think this is social commentary bleeding into the literature and the ending was wrong. McCarthy was lightweight, though it had some great lines. I think judges may have believed it contained profundity that it didn't. James was profound, and high octane, I felt exhausted after finishing.
