The Man Booker Prize and 2015 winner of the Man Booker International Prize

The Booker Prize, traditionally awarded for the best original novel written in English and published in the UK, is undisputedly one the most important fictional literary gongs going. As Wikipedia informs us, it is “greeted with great anticipation and fanfare… It is also a mark of distinction for authors to be selected for inclusion in the shortlist or even to be nominated for the longlist”.

Since 2005, there has also been a separate annual award bestowed for the Man Booker International Prize, which considers a writer’s body of work rather than a single novel, and this year’s incumbent was named just today.

Ten finalists were nominated : César Aira from Argentina, Hoda Barakat from Lebanon, Maryse Condé from Guadeloupe, Mia Couto from Mozambique, Amitav Ghosh from India, Fanny Howe from the USA, Ibrahim al-Koni from Libya, Laszlo Krasznahorkai from Hungary, Alain Mabanckou from the Republic of Congo and Marlene van Niekerk from South Africa.

Thanks to D and J for the heads-up, for hot off the press, just announced this evening, the Bafta – sorry, Booker – goes to: Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, who has won a host of prizes since penning his first novel “Satanango” in 1985 – which was apparently transformed into a film, and into beautiful award-winning translated English. The Guardian, as always, are straight onto it, so you can read more about this visionary author in their freshly pressed article and will add his first novel to my Wish List, Kafka move over. Anyone capable of pronouncing this surname with confidence also eligible for a prize…

Returning to the Man Booker Prize ‘proper’, we have a little wait to learn which authors are in the running for 2015, as this year’s longlist is not announced until the end of July, with those making it to the shortlist getting their speeches planned mid September, and the fan faring ceremony taking place in October. 

To keep us going and those anticipatory levels stoked up, here’s a summary of previous winners in the meantime and “fiction at its finest” :

Man Booker 2014 Winner :   

“The Narrow Road to the Deep North” by Richard Flanagan – now read, 9/10

2014 Shortlist :

“To Rise again at a Decent Hour” by Joshua Ferris – to read

“We are All Completely Beside Ourselves” by Karen Joy Fowler – read, 10/10

“J” by Howard Jacobson – to read

“The Lives of Others” by Neel Mukherjee – to read

“How To Be Both” by Ali Smith – read, 10/10.

Man Booker previous wins – 2013-2000 :

2013 – “The Luminaries” by Eleanor Catton – to read

2012 – “Bring up the Bodies” by Hilary Mantel – read, 7/10

2011 – “The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes – read, 10/10 – A FAVOURITE BOOK

2010 – “The Finkler Question” by Howard Jacobson – to read

2009 – “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel – read, 7/10

2008 – “The White Tiger” by Aravind Adiga – read, 6/10

2007 – “The Gathering” by Anne Enright – read, 6/10

2006 – “The Inheritance of Loss” by Anita Desai – to read

2005 – “The Sea” by John Banville – to read

2004 – “The Line of Beauty” by Alan Hollinghurst – read, 7/10 (loved “The Stranger’s Child“, 10/10)

2003 – “Vernon God Little” by D.B.C. Pierre – to read

2002 – “Life of Pi” by Yann Martel – read, 10/10

2001 – “True History of the Kelly Gang” by Peter Carey – to read (also own three others including “Oscar and Lucinda” which won the Booker in 1988, but somewhat scared off by having read and really not liked “Parrot and Olivier in America”, heresy! off with her head!, 5/10)

2000 – “The Blind Assassin” by Margaret Atwood – to read (absolutely adored “The Handmaid’s Tale”, 10/10 and “Alias Grace”, 10/10).

      

Man Booker previous wins – 2000-1980 :

1999 – “Disgrace” by J.M. Coetzee – to read

1998 – “Amsterdam” by Ian McEwan – read, 8/10

1997 – “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy – read, 8/10

1996 – “Last Orders” by Graham Swift – read, 6/10

1995 – “The Ghost Road” by Pat Barker – read, 7/10

1994 – “How Late it Was, How Late” by James Kelman – to read

1993 – “Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha” by Roddy Doyle – to read

1992 –  Joint winners : “The English Patient” by Michael Ondaatje – read, 5/10, although of course could not have loved the film more and am sure is me who is to be found sadly lacking here  +  “Sacred Hunger” by Barry Unsworth – to read

1991 – “The Famished Road” by Ben Okri – to read

1990 – “Possession” by A.S. Byatt – to read

1989 – “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro – read, 10/10, A FAVOURITE READ

1988 – “Oscar and Lucinda” by Peter Carey – to read

1987 – “Moon Tiger” by Penelope Lively – to read

1986 – “The Old Devils” by Kingsley Amis – to read

1985 – “The Bone People” by Keri Hulme – read, 10/10

1984 – “Hotel du Lac” by Anita Brookner – to read

1983 – “Life and Times of Michael K” by J.M. Coetzee – to read

1982 – “Schindler’s Ark” by Thomas Keneally – shame on me, seen film but still to read

1981 – “Midnight’s Children” by Salman Rushdie – to read

1980 – “Rites of Passage” by William Golding – to read.

The list does go on, for the Man Booker was initiated back in 1969, but I fear I will well and truly be in my dotage if I go any further right now, would be just too dispiriting – will save adding to the list until that far off day when all of these are in the “Aha, Have Read” pile…and will gamely attempt to crack on with this little lot.

Images taken from here and here and here and here and here.