The winner of the Man Booker Prize was awarded today to Eleanor Catton for her novel The Luminaries. According to their site, she is the youngest award recipient to have won so far, at the age of 28. According to the official site, the novel is a mystery about a group of gold miners in New Zealand in 1866. My guess is that sitting at 832 pages, a good deal happens to make it about a lot more than just a little mystery.
I, for one, am always really excited to hear about the longlist and winner for the Man Booker Prize. Sadly, I only made it through one of the novels on the longlist before the award was posted, and this was not it, but I'm eager to read this one for myself.
The other interesting news coming out about the Man Booker Prize is that they are going to now consider authors published in English and in the U.K., which of course opens the door to American authors. I'm sure this has caused a stir in the literary world, which is an interesting conversation in and of itself. I'm just excited to have more great novels brought to my attention!
I've already ordered The Luminaries. Will you be reading Catton's novel or will you wait to hear what others think?
The Luminaries,
set in 1866 during the New Zealand gold rush, contains a group of 12
men gathered for a meeting in a hotel and a traveller who stumbles into
their midst; the story involves a missing rich man, a dead hermit, a
huge sum in gold, and a beaten-up whore. There are sex and seances,
opium and lawsuits in the mystery too. The multiple voices take turns to
tell their own stories and gradually what happened in the small town of
Hokitika on New Zealand's South Island is revealed. - See more at:
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/and-winner#sthash.s7Ldu1yv.dpuf
The Luminaries,
set in 1866 during the New Zealand gold rush, contains a group of 12
men gathered for a meeting in a hotel and a traveller who stumbles into
their midst; the story involves a missing rich man, a dead hermit, a
huge sum in gold, and a beaten-up whore. There are sex and seances,
opium and lawsuits in the mystery too. The multiple voices take turns to
tell their own stories and gradually what happened in the small town of
Hokitika on New Zealand's South Island is revealed. - See more at:
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/and-winner#sthash.s7Ldu1yv.dpuf
I just hope the Booker doesn't become a carry over full of "more of the same" novels that are nominated for American prizes. I really liked the diversity this brought. Not sure I'll get around to this one. Its heft scares me a little!
ReplyDeleteYea. I had kind of wondered that. I've always really loved the Booker prize for its diversity as well. Here's hoping it just continues to really put out amazing literature.
DeleteI just got a copy today and I can't wait to read it. :) It might be Thanksgiving before I get to it, but I'm going to try. We'll see!
Am I planning to read a 800+ page book? Um... no. ;)
ReplyDeleteWell, I'll tell you how it is. I'm obsessed w/ the Booker Prize for a multitude of strange reasons and I can't wait to read it. :)
DeleteI'm very curious about the book but, at 800 pages, will see what my trusted blogger friends have to say first.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested to see what other bloggers say as well. I just got my copy today, but I really want to see what people think of this one.
DeleteI rarely read books when they are new, but this one does sound intriguing so I might try it before the end of the year. I'll be checking back to see what you thought of it.
ReplyDelete