3 months ago
18
LONDON:
Rachel Kushner
's "Creation Lake," a
novel
about a spy-for-hire who infiltrates an environmental activist group, and
Percival Everett
's "James," a retelling of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn" from the perspective of an enslaved runaway, were among the six titles announced Monday that will compete for 2024
Booker Prize
.
The
shortlist
featured the largest-ever number of women authors in its 55-year history as well as its first Dutch author.
Five women and one man are in the running from a longlist of 13 authors. They include writers from Australia, the Netherlands, Britain, Canada and the US.
The shortlist, revealed during an event in London, includes Yael van der Wouden's "The Safekeep", an erotically charged novel about a Dutch woman who unexpectedly falls for her brother's girlfriend, and Samantha Harvey's "Orbital," about six astronauts circling Earth on a space station. Anne Michaels' "Held", a multigenerational family saga that begins in the trenches of WWI, and Charlotte Wood's "Stone Yard Devotional," about a woman overcome with despair about climate change who enters a convent, are the other two nominated titles.
First awarded in 1969, the Booker Prize is one the most coveted
literary awards
, given each year to a novel written in English and published in Britain or Ireland. Over the years, the prize has created literary sensations and capped illustrious careers, with past winners that include Douglas Stuart's "Shuggie Bain" and Hilary Mantel's "Bring Up The Bodies." Last year's prize went to "Prophet Song," a novel by Paul Lynch set in a near-future Ireland torn apart by civil war.
Edmund de Waal, the chair of this year's judges, said the six books dealt with "the fault lines of our times," including conflicts of identity, race and sexuality. But, he added, they were also great reads. De Waal said that he had filled his copies of the nominated novels with so many markings that they had become "a complete disgrace, a librarian's lament."
Sara Collins, a novelist and another of this year's judges, described the announcement of female-heavy shortlist as "a gratifying, thrilling moment".
Monday's announcement came seven weeks after the judges had published a 13-book longlist. Several high-profile titles failed to make the final cut, including Richard Powers' "Playground" and Tommy Orange's "Wandering Stars."
The Booker Prize ceremony will take place on November 12. The winner will get £50,000.
The full shortlist is:
Percival Everett, "James";
Samantha Harvey, "Orbital";
Rachel Kushner, "Creation Lake"; Anne Michaels, "Held";
Yael van der Wouden, "The Safekeep"; Charlotte Wood, "Stone Yard Devotional" NYT & AFP
