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I am creating this now because several books that will not be eligible until 2022 are being discussed on this year's speculation thread. The Listopia list is here:
/list/show/1...

I think someone will have to create the Listopia first - Doug normally does but normally I think after the 2021 prize is done.

So first up is the "new" book by Douglas Stuart

I say "new" because Stuart made it clear at the time of the Booker (and I think has said again) that this book was finished a long time back (well before Shuggie won the Booker) - partly due to the time it took him to write the more autobiographical Shuggie.

Then he talked about the book as a Romeo-Juliet rewrite which worried me a little as that makes it sound rather cliched/unoriginal (whereas SB was I felt very distinctive) - but let's see

Some detail

"Five years in the writing, Young Mungo is a vivid portrayal of working-class life and a deeply moving and highly suspenseful story of the dangerous first love of two young men: Mungo and James. Born under different stars—Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic—they should be sworn enemies if they’re to be seen as men at all.

"Their environment is a hyper-masculine and sectarian one, for gangs of young men and the violence they might dole out dominate the Glaswegian estate where they live.

"And yet against all odds Mungo and James become best friends as they find a sanctuary in the pigeon dovecote that James has built for his prize racing birds . . . Young Mungo is a gripping and revealing story about the bounds of masculinity, the push and pull of family, the violence faced by many queer people, and the dangers of loving someone too much."

Emily St Mandel's "Sea of Tranquility" was announced in the Bookseller this week

I have to say I think its a travesty that Glass Hotel/Station Eleven did not feature on the Booker - the two are great individually and as a pair brilliant. This one sounds fascinating

"In 1912, 18-year-old Edwin St Andrew crosses the Atlantic, exiled from English polite society. In British Columbia, he enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and for a split second all is darkness, the notes of a violin echoing unnaturally through the air. The experience shocks him to his core. Two centuries later Olive Llewelyn, a famous writer, is traveling all over Earth, far away from her home in the second moon colony. Within the text of Olive’s bestselling novel lies a strange passage: a man plays his violin for change in the echoing corridor of an airship terminal as the trees of a forest rise around him.

"When Gaspery-Jacques Roberts, a detective in the black-skied Night City, is hired to investigate an anomaly in time, he uncovers a series of lives upended: the exiled son of an aristocrat driven to madness, a writer trapped far from home as a pandemic ravages Earth, and a childhood friend from the Night City who, like Gaspery himself, has glimpsed the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe."

Jonathan said: "Sea of Tranquility is astonishing. It is a novel that investigates the idea of parallel worlds and possibilities, that plays with the very line along which time should run. Perceptive and poignant about art and love, and what we must do to survive, it is also incredibly compelling: a time travel novel reminiscent of David Mitchell and an enormously exciting offering from one of our most remarkable writers."

St John Mandel said: "Sea of Tranquility was conceived and written during the pandemic. I spent the entirety of 2020 in New York City, and this is the kind of book that happens when you’re working in a soundscape of constant ambulance sirens. There is a time traveller in it. There is also an author living on a moon colony who visits Earth on a book tour. ."

And I know Paul has already said he loved this - I hope to read soon (if I can get to it pre-Booker)

From our very own forum member

Chouette, a modern-day fable by US writer Claire Oshetsky which draws on her own experiences as a mother to non-conforming children.

Described as "possessed of a biting humour and wild love", Chouette follows the story of Tiny as she becomes pregnant to an "owl-baby" and her journey to break free of societal expectations as her unusual child grows up.

The synopsis reads: "'It’s not yours,' she tells [her husband]. 'This baby will be an owl-baby.' When the child is born, she is indeed different �� Chouette can’t walk; she never speaks; she lashes out when frightened and causes chaos in public. Her husband wants to find a treatment that will give her a normal life; but Tiny thinks she’s perfect just as she is. As Tiny and her husband fight over what’s right for their child, Chouette herself is growing. And in her fierce self-possession, her untameable will, she teaches Tiny to break free of expectations �� no matter what it takes."

Oshetsky, based in California, said: "I set out one day to write a memoir about what it was like to raise my children, but honestly, the experience of being their mother was so unexpected that I ended up writing a novel about an owl-baby instead. To paraphrase Dickinson, I’ve told the truth, but told it slant. I hope Chouette resonates with every reader who has ever been a mother, or who has ever been the child of a mother, and I’m grateful to Virago for bringing my story to the UK."

Paula mentioned the new book by Lara Williams (winner of 2019 Not the Booker with Supper Club)

No title yet but
“surreal, acid-tongued and extremely funny��

“a lacerating examination of capitalism and consent, and of the fraught search for meaning in what can often feel like the end times��.

“Set on a gargantuan luxury cruise liner captained by self-appointed visionary Keith, the novel follows the fates of a gift shop worker, Circe. Keith is a devoted (if ill-informed) follower of the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi and a passionate believer in being your authentic self. Unfortunately, Circe’s authentic self is just a reflection of whoever she happens to be around at the time. So when she is accepted onto Keith’s mysterious personal mentoring scheme, he quickly senses that she is the perfect candidate to help him realise his great vision…��

Not sure this appeals to me but I was not a great Supper Club fan

"Companion Piece" by Ali Smith "a celebration of companionship in all its timeless and contemporary, legendary and unpindownable, spellbinding and shapeshifting forms."

Not wanting to ignore a fellow forum member, but I have to say I am excited about a new Emily St John Mandel book. And it will be interesting to see if she continues with the links that don’t exist just across Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel.

"French Braid" by Anne Tyler

A freshly observed, funny, joyful, brilliantly perceptive journey deep into one family's foibles, from the 1950s right up to the changed world of today

The Garretts take their first and last family vacation in the summer of 1959. They hardly ever venture far from home, but in some ways they have never been further apart. Mercy has trouble resisting the siren call of her aspirations to be a painter, which means less time keeping house for her husband, Robin. Their teenage daughters, steady Alice and boy-crazy Lily, could not have less in common. Their youngest, David, is already intent on escaping his family's orbit, for reasons none of them understands. Yet, as these lives advance across decades, the Garretts' influence on one another ripples unmistakably through each generation.

Full of heartbreak and hilarity, French Braid is classic Anne Tyler: a stirring, uncannily insightful novel bursting with warmth and humour that illuminates the kindnesses and cruelties of our daily lives, the impossibility of breaking free from those who love us, and how close -- yet how unknowable -- every family is to itself.

And of course "Oh, William" by Elizabeth Strout - a direct sequel to "My Name is Lucy Barton"

/review/show...

Neil wrote: "Not wanting to ignore a fellow forum member, but I have to say I am excited about a new Emily St John Mandel book. And it will be interesting to see if she continues with the links that don’t exist..."

Interesting to see a detective in this one as I think that already links to some previous novels?

Having recently read it, I echo the praise for Chouette (review still to be written). Always excited for a new Ali Smith---thanks for the good news!

Very excited to have another Emily St. John Mandel book to look forward to. I loved both Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel. Also interested to see what emerges from an author stranded in NYC during the pandemic, having gone through it living about 45 minutes outside the city and having so many friends that didn’t leave their tiny NYC apartments for months.

I have to read Emily St. John Mandel, she is one of the authors I just have not got to yet and of course I want to read Chouette. As a mother of kids that fit easily in where society expects them and kids that do not this sounds wonderful.

Thanks for posting about Chouette, you guys. I'm very excited about getting this book published and also I'm hoping that forum members will feel easy about expressing any opinions whatsoever if they read it. The early consensus seems to be that this book is unusual and that it's not for everyone.

lark wrote: "Thanks for posting about Chouette, you guys. I'm very excited about getting this book published and also I'm hoping that forum members will feel easy about expressing any opinions whatsoever if the..."

I’ve got your book on my wishlist- once I recover financially from this year’s list, I plan to buy it. I’m excited to read it!

I was gonna post this on the 2021 thread before I realized it will be eligible for 2022��.

…we have to reckon with the possibility of Jonathan Franzen being a Booker longlisted author for Crossroads, publishing in early October. (I for one would be glad to see it. I read Freedom and the Corrections recently and thought they were great. But with such a big reputation, perhaps a judging panel would pass up on that added publicity?)

I enjoyed The Book of Dog, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy Chouette.

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "So first up is the "new" book by Douglas Stuart

I say "new" because Stuart made it clear at the time of the Booker (and I think has said again) that this book was finished a long time back (well b..."

Hadn't realised he had said it was a Romeo and Juliet rewrite - but the first thing that came to mind yesterday when I read the blurb was "this looks like a Romeo and Juliet rewrite"

James wrote: "I was gonna post this on the 2021 thread before I realized it will be eligible for 2022��.

…we have to reckon with the possibility of Jonathan Franzen being a Booker longlisted author for Crossroad..."

Franzen is one of the authors I've not read but feel like I have (I had to just check GR if I had read him or not) as I know I won't like him! I think I did attempt the first pages of The Corrections once and it felt like an exact anti-novel for my taste.

He very much seems to be aiming to write the Great American Novel - as Shriver put it "a massive doorstop of a book that implies a thunderous message and all-encompassing world view ... always written by a man" (she could have prefaced 'man' with 'white')

Perhaps he will surprise with an innovative but modest novella that has nothing to do with the US zeitgeist as he sees it.

Neil wrote: "Not wanting to ignore a fellow forum member, but I have to say I am excited about a new Emily St John Mandel book. And it will be interesting to see if she continues with the links that don’t exist..."

Although would that count against her for the Booker? I know there is at least one forum member who gets annoyed about Booker books that rather oblige one to read previous works by the author if one is to fully appreciate them. Indeed isn't his name Neil :-)

lark wrote: "Thanks for posting about Chouette, you guys. I'm very excited about getting this book published and also I'm hoping that forum members will feel easy about expressing any opinions whatsoever if the..."

My review of Chouette: /review/show...

I guess it perhaps isn't for people who like their novels to neatly resolve whether they are fantasy or realism - it very cleverly walks the tightrope of the Todorovian Fantastic.

I think the book will have a very high cross over with people’s reaction to Nightbitch which by coincidence is published tomorrow

For Paul and his beloved Todorovian Fantastic

A: Something I loved about the novel is how often you're flirting with this question of just how much of what's happening is real. You walk that tightrope beautifully, but I'm curious: during the writing process, how much did you entertain that question of what's real or what's literal?

A:That question was always present. I really reveled in that tension, and didn't want it to resolve in the book. I wanted to play with it and have it be an open question that readers could grapple with and think about. I think it's interesting to interrogate as a reader, whether you think the mother is losing her mind or whether [its actual] .. and what your answers to those questions have to say about the validity of women's experiences. I think that that makes it a richer reading experience. As I wrote, I wasn’t really sure if it was real or not, and I had to negotiate that question. It made the writing surprising, and it kept pushing me forward in the narrative.

Paul wrote: "Neil wrote: "Not wanting to ignore a fellow forum member, but I have to say I am excited about a new Emily St John Mandel book. And it will be interesting to see if she continues with the links tha..."

Well, at least in my head, there's a big difference between a trilogy where three books tell a single story and a collection of books that tell standalone stories but have some crossover with repeated characters.

True - although I have to say the references in reviews of St John Mandel's books of links to her previous novels have rather put me off reading them.

(purely for interest - is she at "Saint John" or an "Sin-jun" in terms of pronunciation)

Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer wrote: "For Paul and his beloved Todorovian Fantastic

A: Something I loved about the novel is how often you're flirting with this question of just how much of what's happening is real. You walk that tight..."

Is that a question from me? If not the "walking the tightrope beautifully" is an odd coincidence!

Nightbitch sounds like it is aiming for a bit more by way of humour? And does it need one to have any affinity with the idea of dogs as pets, or is it more a wild animal type thing? But it does sound good - except it ought to be back on the 2021 thread!

There is a Listopia list, but so far Doug has only added 4 books to it, and one of those is Booker International material. I have added the link to the opening comment above.

I have added four of the books mentioned above, and Strout was already there - couldn't find the other two (Williams and Mandel)

I am guessing the Lara Williams is The Odyssey. And I have found and added the Mandel so I think they are all there now.

Doug has also voted for Mother's Boy by Patrick Gale and The Fell by Sarah Moss.

I've deleted the Fosse

Franzen is trying again to be the American novelist?

I saw interviews with him and he was insufferable. When Oprah was helping reinvigorate publishing with Oprah books Franzen felt it was beneath him to associate with that and be on her show, of course he’s free not to, it’s his choice, but I don’t know why he felt he was too good to be included with authors like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, William Faulkner, Toni Morrison, Ronhinton Mistry, Alan Paton.

I tried to read The Corrections and couldn’t do it. Two pages to describe getting something out of a draw was ridiculous and I remember his writing was millenialish, but maybe I was ready to dislike him.

WndyJW wrote: "Franzen is trying again to be the American novelist?

I saw interviews with him and he was insufferable. When Oprah was helping reinvigorate publishing with Oprah books Franzen felt it was beneath..."

He’s an egotistical a-hole, but he can write. I loved The Corrections and Freedom.

Maybe he's just very bad at social interactions and keeps putting his foot in it. I began to forgive him after I saw him in person at a Corrections event, or maybe it was Purity, but anyway he looked nothing like his dashing arrogant Marion Ettlinger author photo. In fact he looked exactly like someone whom no one ever taught manners to. And I'm willing to give him big heaps of benefit-of-the- doubt because he has moved from Manhattan to my laid-back coastal town where nothing ever happens (Santa Cruz), and also, because he championed Paula Fox and Nell Zink, two talented women who would have been in the trash heap of forgotten female writers without him.

He also attempted to redeem himself by allowing Freedom to be an Oprah Book Club selection and going on her show to promote it.

It gets to that question, though, whether there's any problem with admiring an author's work while not admiring the author him/herself. This comes up often with David Foster Wallace, who's image has taken a beating over time, but who (in my opinion) was an incredible writer.

After I posted that I remembered hearing him in an interview post the Oprah thing where Franzen admitted to being a bit arrogant I think, or maybe he just seemed more humble in the interview. I don’t remember. I just know he’s not been heard from or about for years. Maybe he’s worth a second shot.

Tom wrote: "It gets to that question, though, whether there's any problem with admiring an author's work while not admiring the author him/herself. This comes up often with David Foster Wallace, who's image has taken a beating over time, but who (in my opinion) was an incredible writer. ..."

I'm not a fan of his writing but as I understand it he suffered his whole lifetime from clinical depression, and his downward spiral to death by suicide was triggered by an attempt to change his meds. When someone is suffering that much I tend to forgive a lot.

WndyJW wrote: "Maybe he’s worth a second shot..."

I don't think he'll come off very successfully as less arrogant but he is just so clueless all the time. The last time I looked he was calling himself the greatest writer of his generation on his home page. That said, I re-read The Corrections this year, and it was a certain kind of brilliant. Not my favorite kind, but still.

lark wrote: "Tom wrote: "It gets to that question, though, whether there's any problem with admiring an author's work while not admiring the author him/herself. This comes up often with David Foster Wallace, wh..."

Agreed on giving him the benefit of the doubt, given how much he struggled with depression. In contrast, I'm a big fan of his work and actually find it hard to separate the work and the person, so I tend to forgive a lot of his faults. It was more an example of the philosophical question about separating a writer from their works. And appreciating one without the other. I think there was an Atlantic article recently tackling this question.

lark wrote: "Tom wrote: "It gets to that question, though, whether there's any problem with admiring an author's work while not admiring the author him/herself. This comes up often with David Foster Wallace, wh..."

I listened to Michael Silverblatt interview DFW a couple of times on his Bookworm podcast, and it gave me a new window on the author. He was so in awe of Silverblatt that he seemed downright humble.

Can you be a writer without being arrogant though? Like you read great works from the past all your life and if you still want to write. I think it is arrogance. Sure, as times change we need to tell new stories. But sitting down thinking 'I can tell that story' needs arrogance, i think.

I think in the case of Franzen and DFW's notoriety, it's just plain old jealousy expressed in a rather roundabout way. Their raw literary talent and also popularity are leagues beyond anything thier critics have ever put out. I've seen the same thing happen in lesser degree to Sally Rooney. Yeah, she's a bit lacking in 'raw literary talent' area, but so many milliniels/GenZ think she's the best writer of thier generation(very unfortunate) and she's been harpooned by a lot of critics for it.

I can think of very few authors I have met who I would describe as arrogant - in fact in many cases (for example Ali Smith, Anna Burns both of whom I have chatted to for more than just 1-2 minutes in a book signing) I would say almost the exact opposite.

Even with Salman Rushdie (who I have joint-interviewed and then chatted to another time) - I was surprised at what I perceived as his insecurity and how much being shortlisted for the Booker meant for him in terms of affirmation that he was still relevant.

Now of course there are some exceptions - some of whom are quite surprising and some (Will Self for example) not.

What I think many authors are is confident in their own work and intentions - maybe you might call that arrogance in a narrow sense. Many authors whose works I find flawed or misjudged (and who get a lot of criticism here) I am always impressed at how confidently they speak about their books and their intentions and what they believe they achieved in them, when at a book reading or discussion panel.

Generally I find authors quite down to earth, I’ve attended two talks by Rushdie and he came across like a jovial relative.

The only time I had a ok-ish experience was with Louis de Bernieres who was waspish throughout his talk and when I went to chat the impression I got was that I was wasting his time.

Compared with my dealings in the music industry ( I’ve had Ex belle and Sebastian singer Isobel Campbell call me a nasty insult) authors are quite genial

Richard Flanagan was one I didn't take to - gave the strong impression book signing was beneath him and didn't really even make eye contact. Oddly Orhan Pamuk as well but that seemed an overzealous publicist who didn't want the hoi polloi to actually speak to him.

There are also scary authors. I've never yet plucked up the courage to speak to Rachel Cusk, and Gwendoline Riley, although very nice, politely ripped me to pieces twice.

I'm trying to picture in my mind a polite ripping to pieces!

To be honest, I am in awe of those who have been blessed with inspiration and creativity. And they too are complex human beings, differing personality types and like all of us, with good days and bad days,

I always have i mind the final verse of Robert Burns, 'To a Louse'

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

I have one daughter who is very shy, very quiet, very introverted. She rarely makes eye contact. People worry that she doesn’t like them and I’m sure she comes off as arrogant, but she’s not at all, she finds it too unsettling to be the focus of attention, so I am always hesitant to assume someone is arrogant if they don’t talk and don’t make eye contact.

Robert, if I had been with you I would have told those singers off! And Gwendolyn Riley, Paul, unless you deserved it. Did you criticize Ms. Riley?

I just said that her book sounded great but I hadn't actually bought a copy (so couldn't asked for a signature).

Didn't end well.

My husband still has a very uneasy feeling when he thinks back on a question he asked Ursula Le Guin at a reading once...he can't remember the question but it seemed benign to him and she excoriated him in front of about 800 people for asking it.

That said it's positively painful sometimes to hear the dumb questions people ask--the parasocial neediness of people--like the time a woman got up at a Roxane Gay reading and started telling us all weepily about her weight issues and how much she id'd with Gay, when she was of course a not-even-hefty white person. Or the time someone in an audience of all-white geriatric women, of which I'm one, stood up and asked Colson Whitehead if he'd recommend THE NICKEL BOYS as appropriate reading for her 12 year old gifted child.

Riley ripped you to pieces because you hadn’t (yet, for all she knew) bought her book, even though you said it sounded great? That one time, what was the other?

Those people aren’t actually asking questions, they are telling the audience that they think their child is gifted and that they lost weight, and that they are really, really needy.