The Man Booker Prize is one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world.  It is awarded annually to the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom.

 

Originally the Prize was only awarded to citizens of the British Commonwealth, but in 2014 it was opened to any novel written in English.  In 2016, the first American, Paul Beatty, won for “The Sellout.”  The prize comes with a cash award of 50,000 pounds and international recognition. 

             

The Booker panel first announces a longlist of possible winners, and then cuts the list down to a shortlist of 5 or 6 novels.  The award will be announced on October 17th.  Apparently British bookies think George Saunders first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo,” is the favorite.  By an American, it is an experimental portrait of Abraham Lincoln’s grief at the death of his 11-year-old son, Willie.

               

Paul Auster’s “4 3 2 1” is a hefty look at the life of Archibald Isaac Ferguson throughout the second half of the last century.  Auster takes Archie through four different lives with four different outcomes.  “This is a novel tormented by fate, contingency and playful literary experimentation,” according to The Guardian.

              

 Emily Fridlund’s “History of Wolves” is a coming-of-age novel set in the Midwest.  Madeline at 14 lives with her parents in a hippie commune; she is a loner whose job as a babysitter for another family propels her into their secrets.

               

“Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid looks at the refugee issue with a magical twist.  Its two main characters, Saeed and Nadia, flee their home country when his mother is shot dead.  With little future, they grasp at a way out, magical doors that open and send refugees to another destination, but there is a price.

               

“Elmet” by Fiona Mozley was written on a phone.  Brother and sister, Daniel and Cathy are faced with a family crisis when the home their father built in Yorkshire brings conflict since he built it on land he doesn’t own.  Now faced with the local landowners, he turns to violence placing all their lives in danger.

               

Ali Smith’s “Autumn” is the portrait of Daniel Gluck, 101, and his protégé, Elisabeth, 30; his former next-door neighbor, the two have shared history, but both face a stormy future in Brexit Britain.  The Guardian describes it as “a bittersweet tour de force . . . interweaving art, death and the mysteries of love.”

               

The following novels appeared on the longlist of contenders: “Days Without End” by Sebastian Barry, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” by Arundhati Roy, “Swing Time” by Zadie Smith, “Solar Bones” by Mike McCormack, “Reservoir 13” by Jon McGregor, “Home Fire” by Kamila Shamsie, and “The Underground Railroad” by Colson Whitehead.