2013 Booker Prize longlist speculation thread

This year's Booker Prize longlist will be announced on July 23, just over two weeks from today. One online group, the 2013 Speculation thread in the Mookse and the Gripes forum, has been discussing eligible books for several weeks, but I haven't found many other articles, blogs or groups that have said much about this year's award. I assume that discussion about the prize will increase significantly next week, and I'll post links to articles and blogs here that discuss this year's longlist (and I would encourage all of you to do the same).

I have read several books and own a couple of others that have been mentioned in the Mookse and the Gripes speculation thread as possible longlist candidates. The opening message of that thread lists the books that have been discussed since the forum was created last autumn. The ones I expect to see on the longlist are:

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I'm reading it at the moment, but based on what I've read so far and comments from others I think it will be chosen for the longlist.

Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw: A superb novel set in modern day Shanghai, which revolves around the lives of several Malaysian immigrants, who seek fortune and fame, but find loneliness and numerous frustrations instead. I received an Early Reviewers copy this spring, and read and reviewed it earlier this year.

The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna: An excellent follow up to her Commonwealth Writers' Prize winning novel The Memory of Love, which is set in a contemporary Croatian town in which an English family purchases a house that holds great meaning and bitter memories to several people who live there. I read it at the end of June and reviewed it yesterday.

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson: A clever and captivating novel about a British woman who is born in the early 20th century, dies at various points in her life during in the narrative, and is reborn multiple times throughout the book, as her fate is altered by personal choice and choices external to her. It was shortlisted for last year's Women's Prize for Fiction, and I read and reviewed it earlier this year. IMO either it or Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel should have won that award, instead of May We Be Forgiven by A.M. Homes.

TransAtlantic by Colum McCann: I'll read this later this month, but based on numerous comments and reviews on LT and elsewhere this should make the longlist, and be a strong contender for the prize.

Other books that I think stand a chance of being longlisted are:

The Childhood of Jesus by J.M. Coetzee

Ghana Must Go by Taiye Selasi

Harvest by Jim Crace

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid (I read this in the spring, but it's comparatively lightweight compared to the somewhat similar Five Star Billionaire and his Booker longlisted novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist)

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser

The Testament of Mary by Colm Tóibín

That Deadman Dance by Kim Scott

Which books do you think will make the longlist, and which eligible titles that you have read or heard about stand the best chance to come out on top?

Making popcorn and looking for something to drink while I watch this thread . . . . (says the reader who is still exploring Bookers from the past)

Hi, Joyce! Have you read any of the potential longlist candidates? Are there any books that you think warrant inclusion in the longlist, particularly ones written by Canadian authors? (Care to share your popcorn?)

Here's a cute set of photos from a tweet just sent by #ManBookerPrize, which shows the entries for this year's longlist:

I'll definitely be rooting for Transatlantic, which I finished and reviewed last week. A truly beautiful book, one that makes you ponder the ties of places and ancestry. Of the three stories about celebrated men crossing the Atlantic, the first is the shortest and the weakest, but the sections on Frederick Douglass and George Mitchell are outstanding. The second half, which focuses on Lily Duggan, a young Irish maid who figures in the Douglass story, and her female descendants, weaves brilliantly but subtly into the other stories. It's a captivating story, a very moving book, and the writing is stunning.

The only other one you've mentioned that I've read is Life After Life, which I also liked, but not as much as Transatlantic--a little too gimmicky and perhaps a bit confused in what it intended to do, but still, another fascinating read.

How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia is sitting on the shelf, so perhaps I'll read it next.

The only other book I've read recently that might be a contender is Honour by Elif Shafak (touchstone not available), but I'm not sure about the UK publication date; it may have qualified last year. I'm pretty sure that both Sweet Tooth, which I didn't care for, and Merivel: A Man of His Time would have been in last year's pool.

#3 - Darryl - I almost never read new books, so that's why I'm sitting back with my popcorn, taking notes. Top of the page so far: "read Transatlantic, Deborah raves about this one."

3: I wish those books were turned spine-out so we could read the titles! Those pictures remind me of my TBR stacks before I did some culling of bookshelves and made room for my books on the floor!

I'm halfway through Americanah and will be rooting for it, Transatlantic, and Life After Life to make the Booker List.

I loved Transatlantic and really loved Life After Life and would be thoroughly satisfied with either of those as winners. Although I didn't think How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia was quite as good as The Reluctant Fundamentalist it really got rave reviews from the NY times and most other major publications so I think we'll see it on the long list.

I won't get to Americanah until next month but early gushes make it sound like it will make the list too.

>4 Cariola: Thanks for your comments, Deborah. From what I can tell, Honour was published on January 31st, so its date of release would make it eligible for this year's Booker Prize. However, I'm not sure if she is a citizen of the Commonwealth, as she was born in France and has Turkish descent, although she does live at least part time in London.

Sweet Tooth and Merivel would have been eligible for last year's longlist, as both were published before the September 30th cut off date.

>5 Nickelini: Joyce, I'll probably bring Americanah with me to London this weekend, and I'll probably have read TransAtlantic by the time you and your family arrive. I'd be happy to give you my copies of both books if you'd like.

>6 Donna828: There certainly seems to be a strong consensus about Americanah and TransAtlantic, both here, in the Mookse and the Gripes forum, and on Goodreads. Most think that Life After Life will make the longlist as well.

>7 brenzi: I wouldn't be surprised to see How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia make the longlist, although as you said it isn't as strong as The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Has anyone read any "darkhorse" candidates that might make their way onto the longlist?

I think The Liars' Gospel might be a good bet.

The only book I've read of those mentioned here is Americanah, which I loved. I have Life after Life waiting to be read, and keep seeing prominent displays of Questions of Travel in bookshops here (but haven't been tempted).

Not read any of those possibles so far myself, but I did discover a few months back that a member of my congregation is the brother of the chair of the judging panel this year! No inside scoops though.

I want to read the Atkinson soon, but don't want to buy a hardback; is it out anywhere in paperback yet?

I've read Questions of Travel and think it would be a great inclusion, it won the Miles Franklin Award a month or so ago. Also read Life after Life which doesn't get my vote. I have Liars' Gospel and That Deadman Dance on my tbr so can't comment on them except that Deadman which is eligible, was originally published back in 2010 in Australia so has been around for a while.
Mateship with Birds has been getting short/longlisted and won the inaugural Stella Prize earlier this year so it might also be in consideration, I haven't read it yet.

This morning the Booker Prize administrator (@ManBookerPrize) posted a tweet which mentioned that three book bloggers have posted their suggested longlists or shortlists for this year's Booker Prize.

@utterbiblio (utterbiblio.wordpress.com)

Deserving of the longlist (read):
   All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
   The Folded Ma by Matt Hill
   Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
   We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
   The Machine by James Smythe
   First Novel by Nicholas Royle

Strong longlist possibilities (not yet read):
   Orkney by Amy Sackville
   The Childhood of Jesus by J. M. Coetzee
   TransAtlantic by Colum McCann
   Harvest by Jim Crace
   Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
   Hunters in the Snow by Daisy Hildyard

farmlanebooks (farmlanebooks.co.uk)

   Americanah
   The Hired Man
   Ghana Must Go
   Burial Rites by Hannah Kent
   Secrecy by Rupert Thompson
   The Woman Upstairs by Claire Messud
   419 by Will Ferguson
   All the Birds, Singing by Evie Wyld
   Clever Girl by Tess Hadley
   Wreaking by James Scudamore
   Fallen Land by Patrick Flanery
   Harvest
   The Childhood of Jesus
   The Secret Knowledge by Andrew Crumey

@pjesbookerblog (manbookerprize.blogspot.com

Shortlist predictions:
   Life After Life
   The Childhood of Jesus
   Harvest
   Questions of Travel by Michelle de Kretser
   How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia
   All the Birds, Singing

Harvest and The Childhood of Jesus were mentioned by all three bloggers, and were mentioned in the Mookse and the Gripes Forum. I bought what appears to be a new advance copy of Wreaking yesterday from a bookshop in London for half price; it won't be published until next Thursday, two days after the longlist comes out.

Mateship with Birds & The Liars' Gospel were both published before Oct 2012, so they were eligible last year not this year.

I loved How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia but haven't been very impressed by a number of the other touted books including Five Star Billionaire, Life After Life, All the Birds Singing and especially Ghana Must Go. I don't usually read a lot of brand new fiction so may be judging by the standards of classics etc. I've also started Clever Girl and The Secret Knowledge and so far really like both.

On the subject of Canadian authors, Sheila Heti's How Should a Person Be? is in the stack there - the pattern of the cover is identifiable just above the black book in the right column - and I think deserves a listing. It was also on the Women's Prize longlist.

The only other eligible books I've thought much of so far have been The Spinning Heart (already won awards in Ireland), The Friday Gospels (not much of a dark horse as it was mentioned in the Guardian's holiday reads at the weekend), and Vauxhall (only read a few chapters so far).

Thanks for your comments, antonomasia. I'll look for Vauxhall even if it doesn't make the longlist.

The longlist will be announced tomorrow, 23 July at noon British Summer Time, or 7 am Eastern Daylight Time in the US. I'm in London now, so I'll look for the titles I haven't yet acquired that have been released and are not available in the US tomorrow afternoon.