English.Sahityapost
Kathmandu, October 2
Six books have been shortlisted for The Booker Prize 2023 which got announced on September 21, 2023 at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
The titles of the shortlisted are ‘The Bees Sting’ by Paul Maurray, ‘This Other Eden’ by Paul Harding, ‘If I Survive You’ by Jonathan Escoffery, ‘Western Lane’ by Chetna Maroo, ‘Prophet Song’ by Paul Lynch and ‘Study for Obedience’ by Sarah Bernstein.
None of the shortlisted books has previously been shortlisted for the prize. The shortlist features one British, one Canadian, two Irish and two American and among which two are the debut books. The books addresses many of 2023’s most burning issues like those of climate change, immigration, financial hardship, the persecution of minorities, political extremism, and the erosion of personal freedom.
The bee Sting follows an Irish family in crisis, while Prophet Song examines a mother of four who faces terrible choices. Study for Obedience sees a woman drop everything to be with her elder brother following the collapse of his marriage, while This Other Eden is a tale of racism on an isolated island off the coast of Maine.
Similarly, Western Lane explores an immigrant father’s attempts to raise his family as a single parent, while if I Survive You is a collection of linked stories focused on one family’s tempest- tossed journeys in Jamaica and Florida.
Earlier the Booker Prize had longlisted 13 books for the award.
The winner of £50,000 prize will be announced during an event at Old Billingsgate, London on November 26, 2023.
The Booker Prize is conferred annually upon the best sustained work of fiction written in English published in the UK or Ireland.
