Recommendations from the Man Booker 2020 Shortlist
The Man Booker prize gives much-needed boost to first-time novelists, whether they win or not, because they’re put in the shortlist for all to see. I know the 2020 winner has been awarded but I’d like to take a look at the others in the shortlist for some good ol’ reading inspo.
This shortlist rewards four impressive debuts and introduces readers to new and diverse voices, from America, Ethiopia, Scotland, and yes, India too. They have covered pretty broad subjects in the 2020 shortlist, right from climate change, dementia, racism and homophobia. It might sound a bit intense but all of them are worth reading, in my opinion.
Shuggie Bain, Douglas Stuart
Stuart won the Man Booker 2020 prize for this book. This story is set in poverty-stricken Glasgow. Here we follow Agnes Bain, who is descending into despair and alcoholism after the breakdown of her marriage. All but one of her children have been driven away by her deterioration, and that child struggles to support his mother while suffering huge personal problems of his own.
The New Wilderness, Diane Cook
This is Cook’s first novel and it tells the tale of Bea and her five-year-old daughter, Agnes, who is wasting away in the smog and pollution of the metropolis they call home. To survive is to escape as they join a group of nomadic hunter gatherers. They slowly learn how to survive but the process creates an unexpected, troubling shift in their relationship.
This Mournable Body, Tsitsi Dangarembga
This Mournable Body is Dangarembga’s third book in a trilogy, and returning to the protagonist of her first novel, Dangarembga tells the story of one young girl living in a run-down hostel in Harare. She’s left her dead-end job and is struggling to forge a new life for herself but at every turn is thwarted, which drives her to breaking point.
Burnt Sugar, Avni Doshi
Avni Doshi is a debut novelist of Indian origin who was born in New Jersey and is currently based in Dubai. Burnt Sugar tells the story of the shifting power dynamics in a mother-daughter relationship when the parent, who previously enjoyed a wild life, is forced to let her child look after her as she gets older. It’s both a love story and a story about betrayal, as well as a look at the nature of false memory and how it affects our closest relationships.
The Shadow King, Maaza Mengiste
Maaza Mengiste was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and now lives in New York. The Shadow King is about an orphan girl named Hirut living in Ethiopia in 1935 amid the threat of invasion by Mussolini. When the Ethiopian emperor goes into exile, Hirut disguises a peasant as him while she becomes his guard, only to find herself having to fight her own personal, unexpected war.
Real Life, Brandon Taylor
Brandon Taylor hails from Alabama. For his debut novel, Taylor tells the story of the biochemistry student Wallace, who after weeks of tireless lab work has to deal with its destruction by a torrid storm. But weather disasters are shown to be the least of Wallace’s troubles. He’s isolated himself from his friends as a defence mechanism against his painful past. But now he finds that history coming back to haunt him.
