A Look at This Year's Booker Prize Shortlist

The Booker Prize is the book award that book people get excited about, whether or not they get around to reading all the books nominated. There are book groups that read the shortlist, some which read the longlist too. Whether you read them or not, the conversations they generate, and the sometimes-surprising decisions that upset the bookies – yes, there are odds-on favourites – make the prize a highlight of the bookish year.

This year’s shortlist looks eminently accessible for anyone that likes a slightly meaty read, a crafted work that gives you a great story as well as something to think about afterwards. With the winner to be announced in a few weeks’ time, here’s a look at the final six books up for consideration.

The Land in Winter by Andrew Miller has already won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. Set in England’s West Country during the particularly hard winter of 1962, it’s a look at two young couples, their secrets and problems. Their lives unravel as the weather gets worse, and by the end of the book, things will never be the same. A particularly satisfying read, in part due to Miller’s exquisite prose.

David Szalay’s novel, Flesh follows the life of István, a shy young man at the start of the book, living with his mother in a quiet apartment block in Hungary. The story takes the reader on through his life, with a stint in the army and, eventually, to the world of London’s super rich. A look at one man’s life, while asking the questions: What is life all about? What makes it worth living and what breaks it? Spare and penetrating, say the judges.

Flashlight by Susan Choi looks at the effects of the tragic disappearance of 12-year-old Louisa’s father on their family unit. The story takes you from the post-war immigrant Korean community in Japan to suburban America, as well as North Korea - the events of 20^th century history viewed through the lens of one family. A novel about memory, language and identity.

There’s a road trip at the heart of Ben Markovits’ novel, The Rest of Our Lives. Everything seems to be going wrong for Tom Layward – his marriage, his career, even his health. He hits the road with only vague plans to reconnect with people from his past and maybe also visiting his father’s grave in California. Another book that examines a life and its defining moments.

Do you ever really know the people you love? That’s the question at the heart of Katie Kitamura’s novel, Audition. It follows two people who meet for lunch in Manhattan – an accomplished actress working towards an upcoming premiere and a young man who is both attractive and troubling. As their two narratives develop, each seems to be revealing a role: partner, parent, creator, muse. Compulsively readable, say the judges.

The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai is the heftiest of the bunch, weighing in at 670 pages, and follows two people who meet on a train. Years before, their grandparents had tried to matchmake them, which each had resisted. Both are writers and both are escaping something; now suddenly they are drawn to each other. This is a love story as well as a novel of ideas, from a former winner of the prize.

Six very different novels, but each special in its own way. These titles are new so some are still on order, but all will be able to be borrowed from our libraries. For more info on the books and authors contending, the Booker Prize website is an absolute treasure trove, including readings by well-known performers. The winner of the Booker Prize 2025 will be announced on 10 November. More on this to come.

Posted by JAM

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