And Yet Another Man Booker Reading List

Krishna from S.Krishna’s Books, and Nidhi and Veens over at Giving…Reading a Chance have compiled a nice list of Booker award winners and nominees of the past 20 years. This being Booker season, and somewhat in continuation of my earlier post, I am happily including their list here crossing off the books I have read. The books in bold are the Man Booker winners.

So, without further ado, here is the list:

Best of the Booker:

• Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie – Finally crossed this off my list. Here’s my review.
• The Siege of Krishnapur – J.G. Farrell
• The Conservationist – Nadine Gordimer
• Oscar and Lucinda – Peter Carey
• The Ghost Road – Pat Barker
• Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee

2022:

• Glory – NoViolet Bulawayo
• Small Things Like These – Claire Keegan
• Treacle Walker – Alan Garner
• The Trees – Percival Everett
• The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida – Shehan Karunatilaka
• Oh William! – Elizabeth Strout

2021:

• The Promise – Damon Galgut
• A Passage North – Anuk Arudpragasam
• No One Is Talking About This – Patricia Lockwood
• The Fortune Men – Nadifa Mohamed
• Bewilderment – Richard Powers
• Great Circle – Maggie Shipstead

2020:

• The New Wilderness – Diane Cook
• This Mournable Body – Tsitsi Dangarembga
• Burnt Sugar – Avni Doshi
• The Shadow King – Maaza Mengiste
• Shuggie Bain – Douglas Stuart Loved this book from beginning to end. It’s a simple story about a boy’s love for his alcoholic mother, but it touched my heart. My review here.
• Real Life – Brandon Taylor

2019:

• The Testaments – Margaret Atwood OK, very readable and fast-paced, but a little disappointing for a Man Booker prize-winning novel. Review here.
• Ducks, Newburyport – Lucy Ellmann
• Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo
• An Orchestra of Minorities – Chigozie Obioma
• Quichotte – Salman Rushdie
• 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World – Elif Shafak

2018:

• Milkman – Anna Burns Hard to read but so satisfying. Started this book feeling meh about it and ended up loving it absolutely. My review here.
• Washington Black – Esi Edugyan
• Everything Under – Daisy Johnson
• The Mars Room – Rachel Kushner
• The Overstory – Richard Powers
• The Long Take – Robin Robertson

2017:

• 4321 – Paul Auster
• History of Wolves – Emily Fridlund
• Exit West – Mohsin Hamid. A book that I disliked so much and was so disappointed in that I never got around to reviewing it. Lot of hype, but it didn’t deliver.
• Elmet – Fiona Mozley
• Lincoln in the Bardo – George Saunders
• Autumn – Ali Smith

2016:

• The Sellout – Paul Beatty
• Hot Milk – Deborah Levy
• His Bloody Project – Graeme Macrae Burnet
• Eileen – Ottessa Moshfegh
• All That Man is – David Szalay
• Do Not Say We Have Nothing – Madeleine Thien

2015:

• A Brief History of Seven Killings – Marlon James – Brutal, crazy, sex, drugs, and rock n roll style of novel. Not an easy book to read, but well worth the effort. Review here.
• A Little Life – Hanya Yanagihara
• A Spool of Blue Thread – Anne Tyler
• Satin Island – Tom McCarthy
• The Fishermen – Chigozie Obioma
• The Year of the Runaways – Sunjeev Sahota – Not one of my more memorable books. I liked it, all right, but in style, it was a bit too pedantic for me. Review here.

2014:

• How to be Both – Ali Smith
• J – Howard Jacobson – Very unusual love story set in a dystopian world. Loved the love story, the dystopia not so much. Overall, a disappointment. My review here.
• To Rise Again at a Decent Hour – Joshua Ferris
• We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves – Karen Joy Fowler
• The Lives of Others – Neel Mukherjee – Beautifully written historical fiction. I liked it but thought it was a bit too slow and scattered. My review here.
• The Narrow Road to the Deep North – Richard Flanagan – A little up and down in the beginning, but once the story gets going, it is a great, powerful, and moving read.

2013:

• A Tale for the Time Being – Ruth Ozeki Well-written, intelligent book, but in the end it all felt a bit too much. Still a very good read. Here’s my review.
• Harvest – Jim Crace
• The Lowland – Jhumpa Lahiri – Lovely writing, cliched plot. Loved it anyway. My review here.
• The Luminaries – Eleanor Catton Complex, and twisted. Confusing in parts, but I loved it anyway. Read the book and watched the Netflix show. My thoughts here.
• The Testament of Mary – Colm Toibin
• We Need New Names – NoViolet Bulawayo A lovely but uneven book. Loved it despite its flaws. My review here

2012:

• The Garden of Evening Mists – Tan Twan Eng Lovely book. Highly recommend. Sad but still uplifting. My review here
• Swimming Home – Deborah Levy
• Bring up the Bodies – Hilary Mantel Fast-paced and enthralling. I loved this insight into Anne Boleyn’s downfall. Review here.
• The Lighthouse – Alison Moore
• Umbrella – Will Self
• Narcopolis – Jeet Thayil

2011:

• The Sense of an Ending – Julian Barnes Enjoyable book with some lovely writing. My review here.
• Jamrach’s Menagerie – Carol Birch
• The Sisters Brothers – Patrick deWitt
• Half Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan
• Pigeon English – Stephen Kelman
• Snowdrops – A.D. Miller

2010:

• Parrot and Olivier in America – Peter Carey
• Room – Emma Donoghue. I think I liked the idea of the book more than the book itself. Somehow, I wasn’t quite convinced of the tone of the book (aka the childspeak). I am probably in the minority though, as most people who read this book seem to have loved it. Review here.
• In a Strange Room – Damon Galgut
• The Finkler Question – Howard Jacobson
• The Long Song – Andrea Levy
• C – Tom McCarthy

2009:

• Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel Thoroughly enjoyed this slow meditative account of Thomas Cromwell. Can’t wait to get started with the next book in the series. My review here
• Summertime – J.M. Coetzee
• The Quickening Maze – Adam Foulds
• The Children’s Book – A.S. Byatt
• The Glass Room – Simon Mawer. Lovely read, a little on the cerebral side, and some slow parts, but overall loved it. Review here.
• The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters. Very nice book. Atmospheric and spooky. But quality-wise, I am a bit surprised it made it to the Man Booker shortlist. My review here.

2008:

• The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga Nice powerful novel, one of the few Man Booker award winners I whole-heartedly enjoyed. My review here
• The Secret Scripture – Sebastian Barry
• Sea of Poppies – Amitav Ghosh
• The Clothes on Their Backs – Linda Grant
• The Northern Clemency – Philip Hensher
• A Fraction of the Whole – Steve Toltz

2007:

• The Gathering – Anne Enright Very dark and depressing. A novel about alcoholism, child abuse, and suicide. Not for the easily depressed. Lovely writing though!
• Darkmans – Nicola Barker
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist – Mohsin Hamid
• Mister Pip – Lloyd Jones
• On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan Lovely little gem of a book. Ignore the so-so reviews on the web and read it yourself. You just might like it. I know I loved it. My review here
• Animal’s People – Indra Sinha

2006:

• The Inheritance of Loss – Kiran Desai Nice moving story with a lot of depth, beautiful descriptions, made me want to move to the Himalayas.
• The Secret River – Kate Grenville
• Carry Me Down – M.J. Hyland
• In the Country of Men – Hisham Matar
• Mother’s Milk – Edward St. Aubyn
• The Night Watch – Sarah Waters Beautifully written, atmospheric chronicle of the lives of four people in Britain during and after World War 2. My review here.

2005:

• The Sea – John Banville
• Arthur and George – Julian Barnes
• A Long, Long Way – Sebastian Barry
• Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro One of my faves. I was bawling like a baby by the time I finished this book.
• On Beauty – Zadie Smith Comme ci, comme ca…nothing exceptional, but not boring either.
• The Accidental – Ali Smith

2004:

• The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst
• Bitter Fruit – Achmat Dangor
• The Electric Michelangelo – Sarah Faber
• Cloud Atlas – David Mitchell
• The Master – Colm Toibin
• I’ll Go To Bed At Noon – Gerard Woodward

2003:

• Vernon God Little – DBC Pierre
• Brick Lane – Monica Ali
• Oryx and Crake – Margaret Atwood. Not one of my favorite Atwoods. I would have preferred the book to also answer the questions it raises. Review here.
• The Good Doctor – Damon Galgut
• Notes on a Scandal – Zoe Heller
• Astonishing Splashes of Color – Claire Morrall

2002:

• Life of Pi – Yann Martel Overhyped novel, but still a really fun read with a surprising ending that makes you reflect a bit. I think everyone who reads this novel has a different take on it.
• Family Matters – Rohinton Mistry
• Unless – Carol Shields
• The Story of Lucy Gault – William Trevor
• Fingersmith – Sarah Waters Fun lesbian romp through Victorian England. Lots of Dickensian and Wilkie influences. Highly enjoyable.
  My review here.
• Dirt Music – Tom Winton

2001:

• True History of the Kelly Gang – Peter Carey
• Atonement – Ian McEwan Crossed this off my list last year. My review here
• Oxygen – Andrew Miller
• number9dream – David Mitchell
• The Dark Room – Rachel Seiffert
• Hotel World – Ali Smith

2000:

• The Blind Assassin – Margaret Atwood This is one book I just didn’t get. I managed to complete it, but could just never put it together in my mind. To be honest, I didn’t care enough to even try.
• The Hiding Place – Trezza Azzopardi
• The Keepers of the Truth – Michael Collins
• When We Were Orphans – Kazuo Ishiguro
• English Passengers – Matthew Kneale
• The Deposition of Father McGreevy – Brian O’Doherty

1999:

• Disgrace – J.M. Coetzee
• Fasting, Feasting – Anita Desai
• Headlong – Michael Frayn
• The Map of Love – Ahdaf Soueif
• The Blackwater Lightship – Colm Toibin
• Our Fathers – Andrew O’Hagan

1998:

• Amsterdam – Ian McEwan
• Master Georgie – Beryl Bainbridge
• England England – Julian Barnes
• The Industry of Souls – Martin Booth
• Breakfast on Pluto – Patrick McCabe
• The Restraint of Beasts – Magnus Mills

1997:

• The God of Small Things – Arundhati Roy Very nice and moving book. I loved the doomed love story.
• Quarantine – Jim Crace
• The Underground Man – Mick Jackson
• Grace Notes – Bernard MacLaverty
• Europa – Tim Parks
• The Essence of the Thing – Madeleine St. John

1996:

• Last Orders – Graham Swift
• Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood
• Every Man for Himself – Beryl Bainbridge
• Reading in the Dark – Seamus Deane
• The Orchard on Fire – Shena Mckay
• A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry

1995:

• The Ghost Road – Pat Barker
• In Every Face I Met – Justin Cartwright
• The Moor’s Last Sigh – Salman Rushdie Not Salman Rushdie’s best. Enjoyed it, but if you have never read Rushdie, this is not the book to start off with.
• Morality Play – Barry Unsworth
• The Riders – Tim Winton

1994:

• How Late It Was, How Late – James Kelman
• Beside the Ocean of Time – George Mackay Brown
• Reef – Romesh Gunesekera
• Paradise – Abdulrazak Gurnah
• The Folding Star – Alan Hollinghurst
• Knowledge of Angels – Jill Paton Walsh

1993:

• Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha – Roddy Doyle
• Under the Frog – Tibor Fischer
• Scar Tissue – Michael Ignatieff
• Remembering Babylon – David Malouf
• Crossing the River – Caryl Phillip
• The Stone Diaries – Carol Shields

1992:

• The English Patient – Michael Ondaatje – Whew, finally done with this book. Lovely writing but overall surprisingly uneven. My review here
• Sacred Hunger – Barry Unsworth
• Serenity House – Christopher Hope
• The Butcher Boy – Patrick McCabe
• Black Dogs – Ian McEwan
• Daughters of the House – Michele Roberts

1991:

• The Famished Road – Ben Okri
• Time’s Arrow – Martin Amis
• The Van – Roddy Doyle
• Such a Long Journey – Rohinton Mistry
• The Redundancy of Courage – Timothy Mo
• Reading Turgenev (from Two Lives) – William Tevor

1990:

• Possession – A.S. Byatt
• An Awfully Big Adventure – Beryl Bainbridge
• The Gate of Angels – Penelope Fitzgerald
• Amongst Women – John McGahern
• Lies of Silence – Brian Moore
• Soloman Gursky Was Here – Mordecai Richler

And that’s it folks! Looks like I have read only a handful 🙁

I was quite surprised to realize that not only were most of the books unknown to me but also most of the authors.

Huge reading gaps!!

Oh well, that just means more books left for me to read right? 🙂

So, what do you think about reading Man Bookers, do you think it is your kind of reading? Or are you left frequently underwhelmed? My experiences have been pretty mixed. Some good, some ok, and some were what the hell were they thinking?

Which is your fave Man Booker novel? Which one did you loathe?

If you’d like to take this meme, feel free to post about it in your blog and link to me.