Bibliography, October 2023

BOTM: P. Lynch, Prophet Song (2023)

R. Adams, Trumpets of war (1987)
S. Bernstein, Study for Obedience (2023)

J. Escoffery, If I Survive You (2023)
P. Harding, This Other Eden (2023)
C. Maroo, Western Lane (2023)
P. Murray, The Bee Sting (2023)

J. Shapiro, 1606: the year of Lear (2015)

T. Shaw, The world of Escoffier (1994)

James Shapiro does not repeat the trick in his 1606 Shakespeare book that he did with his superlative one on 1599, but it is still good. I found it disjointed, though very good sections. Elsewhere, mostly Booker nominees, and it's a very frustrating list this year. All Booker debuts and that's probably unwise. Escoffery and especially Murray were just crying out for better endings and structure. In Paul Murray's case, it would have been better if he had just chopped the last quarter off the book entirely. Lynch's book ended well, though I don't think that's the best thing about it. It does require a leap of faith: it's st in an Ireland sliding into dictatorship and civil war, and it does precisely zero work on establishing how that happens. If you just buy that up front, it's a visceral and brutal exploration of how that is experienced and felt. It is not pleasant: it made my skin crawl. It's why I thought it was best. Its well written too.

If I've done the maths right, I've just tipped over the half way mark for all novels ever nominated for the Booker. 164 read; 163 to go. 2023 Booker ranking:

1. Lynch
2. Harding
3. Maroo
4. Escoffery
5. Bernstein
6. Murray