As the International Booker Prize long list for 2021 has been announced, we have rounded up a few Booker Prize winning titles which should be on every bookworm’s must-read list
Representative image. Pic/iStock
Since its establishment in 1969, the Booker Prize is awarded each year to the best fictional English novel. To complement the reputed literary award, the International Booker Prize was introduced in 2005 to recognise works published in English and English translations from authors across the globe. As the International Booker Prize long list for 2021 has been announced, we have rounded up a list of diverse Booker Prize winning titles for you to indulge in.
The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
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Winner of the Booker Prize in 1992 and the Golden Man Booker in 2018, ‘The English Patient’ by Michael Ondaatje is the most critically acclaimed book on this list. The historiographic metafiction is set in the times of the Italian campaigns of World War II and follows four distinctive people who find themselves together in an Italian villa. The story focuses on four principal characters- a Canadian army nurse, an unrecognisably burned man presumed to be English; a Sikh British soldier, and a Canadian thief- and their emotional state of being and attempts to come to terms with the past. The book was adapted into an Academy Award winning movie (with the same title) starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche in 1996.
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The debut novel of Arundhati Roy, ‘The God of Small Things’ is set in a village in Kerala and takes place in 1969. The story follows the childhood experiences of twins, Rahel and Esthappen. Winner of the Booker Prize in 1997, the book is a commentary on Indian history and politics with insights into casteism while it explores themes of cultural tension, forbidden love, and social discrimination.
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
‘The Line of Beauty’ by Alan Hollinghurst is set in Britain in 1980s. Winner of the Booker Prize in 2004, the historical novel follows Nick Guest, its young gay protagonist and explores the tension between his intimate relationships, and the realities of his sexuality and lifestyle. The story explores themes of homosexuality, privilege, and hypocrisy with the emerging AIDS crisis as a backdrop.
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
‘The Inheritance of Loss’ by Kiran Desai is set in the times of the Gorkhaland movement and follows the lives of Biju and Sai. Colonialism and the effects of post-colonialism are a major theme running through the story as it highlights the sense of loss that comes from the loss of identity through generations. Winner of the Booker Prize in 2006, the novel also explores, with intimacy and insight, important contemporary issues of immigration, multiculturalism, economic inequality, globalization, and fundamentalism.
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
‘The Sense of an Ending’ by Julian Barnes follows Tony Webster, a retired man who recollects how he and his bunch of friends met Adrian Finn in school and promised to be friends for life. Set in the 1960s, the relatively short novel (only 163 pages) won the Booker Prize in 2011. The book is a compelling read which raises questions in the minds of the readers as Tony reflects upon the varied paths he and his friends ended up taking.
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
‘The Luminaries’ by Eleanor Catton is set in New Zealand in 1866. Winner of the Booker Prize in 2013, the story follows protagonist Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the settlement of Hokitika to earn a fortune. However, a meeting between twelve local men, representing the twelve signs of the zodiac, leads him to be drawn into a tangled web of mystery involving unsolved crimes.
Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi
Winner of the International Booker Prize in 2019, ‘Celestial Bodies’ by Jokha Alharthi is set in a village in Oman and was originally published in Arabic. The story follows three sisters and their families as they witness their native country evolve from a conservative, slave-owning society to the intersection of its complicated present. The novel’s non-linear narrative draws readers in and tells the tale of Oman’s coming-of-age through the lens of one family’s loves and losses.
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