The nominees: A ‘geopolitical thriller’ and a much-awaited follow-uppublished at 20:54 GMT
Ian Youngs
Culture reporter
Image source, Darren Eagles/WireImageImage caption,
Susan Choi began her career as a fact checker for The New Yorker
We’ll take you through the nominees in the next few posts:
Susan Choi – Flashlight
Choi’s sixth novel starts with a 10-year-old girl taking a walk on a beach with her father, then waking up alone on the shore, with her dad presumed drowned. As she tries to piece together what happened, the story jumps across generations and locations, from Japan to America and North Korea.
The judges say: It’s “a family drama and geopolitical thriller about a fascinating episode from history”, adding: “This is one of those books that completely dominates your thoughts.”
Kiran Desai – The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Desai won the Booker for The Inheritance of Loss in 2006, and is back with its long-awaited follow-up. Its 650 pages deliver an epic tale about love, ambition, family and belonging after two Indian writers who have settled in the US reconnect on an overnight train.
The judges say: “It’s an intimate and expansive epic about two people finding a pathway to love and each other”, adding: “Rich in meditations about class, race and nationhood, this book has it all.”
