The Booker Prize Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why Sally Rooney's Normal People is more than just a love story Feb 01, 2024

Show notes

Sally Rooney is one of the best-loved writers of her generation and her second novel, Normal People, has been overwhelmingly popular across the world – first in book form and then its TV adaptation. Nominated for the Booker Prize 2018, Normal People follows Marianne and Connell as they come of age and figure out their place in the world. It's a love story that has touched readers everywhere but it's also a novel that has something to say about class and politics, in particular. So tune in to this episode to hear Jo and James discuss our February Monthly Spotlight pick.

In this episode Jo and James:

Consider how the book became so popular
Whether the haters have a leg to stand on
Share a brief biography of Sally Rooney
Summarise the plot of Normal People
Discuss the themes explored in the novel

Reading list:

Normal People by Sally Rooney
Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Why you should read Shuggie Bain (If you haven't already) Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

A happy Burns Night to one and all. In honour of this day of celebration for ol' Rabbie Burns, and by extension all Scottish literature, we're taking a dive into one of the most popular Booker Prize winners: Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. The novel, Stuart's debut, presents a blistering and heartbreaking exploration of the unsinkable love that only children can have for their damaged parents.

In this episode Jo and James:

Share a brief biography of Douglas Stuart
Summarise the plot of Shuggie Bain
Discuss their thoughts on the novel
Delve into the characters, particularly Shuggie and his mother, Agnes
Consider the idea of the divided self in Scottish literature

Reading list:

Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
Loitering With Intent by Muriel Spark
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Three short Booker books you can read in a weekend Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

It's winter in the northern hemisphere right now and we are simply filled with the urge to hibernate. If you're feeling the same vibe and want to stay in with a good book, allow us to recommend three short books that could keep you company through a weekend. Listen in this week to hear Jo and James discuss some of the most bijou of novels from the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize archive.

Reading list:

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Possession by A.S. Byatt: January's Monthly Spotlight Jan 11, 2024

Show notes

A.S. Byatt's Possession is a blockbuster of a novel, loved by both critics and readers. If you haven't already read it, you've probably heard of it. (And if you haven't heard of it, well, we're here to fill you in.) Possession won the 1990 Booker Prize and it's a romp of a novel that's part detective thriller and part romance. It also happens to be the subject of our first Monthly Spotlight of 2024 – formerly known as Book of the Month – so tune in as we delve into the book and the life of its author.

In this episode Jo and James:

Share a brief biography of A.S. Byatt
Explore Byatt's literary rivalry with her writer sister, Margaret Drabble
Summarise the plot of Possession
Hear a clip of Byatt reading from the book at the 1990 Booker Prize ceremony
Discuss their thoughts on the novel

Reading list:

Possession by A.S. Byatt: https://thebookerprizes.com/archive/books/possession
An Awfully Big Adventure by Beryl Bainbridge: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/an-awfully-big-adventure
The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-gate-of-angels
Lies of Silence by Brian Moore: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/lies-of-silence
Amongst Women by John McGahern: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/amongst-women
Solomon Gursky Was Here by Mordecai Richler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/solomon-gursky-was-here
The Virgin in the Garden by A.S. Byatt
The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye by A.S. Byatt
The Biographer's Tale
The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-childrens-book

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-28-possession-by-as-byatt

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Books to look out for in 2024 Jan 04, 2024

Show notes

WARNING: this episode contains some adult language.

We’re back after our festive hiatus – and how better to start the year than with a rundown of some of the most-anticipated reads of 2024. This week, Jo and James are joined by journalist and TLS podcast host Alex Clark, so listen in as they discuss the books, by Booker Prize authors and beyond, that we should all keep an eye out for this year.

2024 reading list:

Long Island by Colm Tóibín
The Women Behind the Door by Roddy Doyle
James by Percival Everett
Choice by Neel Mukherjee
What Will Survive of Us by Howard Jacobson
Parade by Rachel Cusk
The Spoiled Heart by Sunjeev Sahota
The Heart in Winter by Kevin Barry
The Underground Sea by John Berger
The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain by Kazuo Ishiguro
Knife by Salman Rushdie
My Heavenly Favourite by Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison
The Road to the Country by Chigozie Obioma
Parasol Against the Axe by Helen Oyeyemi
Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner
Mr Geography by Tim Parks
Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel
Day by Michael Cunningham
Enlightenment by Sarah Perry
Godwin by Joseph O'Neill
Caledonian Road by Andrew O'Hagan

Other books mentioned:

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín
The Woman Who Walked into Doors by Roddy Doyle
Paula Spencer by Roddy Doyle
The Committments by Roddy Doyle
The Snapper by Roddy Doyle
The Van by Roddy Doyle
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle
Two Pints by Roddy Doyle
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
The Trees by Percival Everett
Erasure by Percival Everett
Suder by Percival Everett
The Lives of Others by Neel Mukherjee
Who's Sorry Now? by Howard Jacobson
Kalooki Nights by Howard Jacobson
J by Howard Jacobson
The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
Live a Little by Howard Jacobson
Mother's Boy by Howard Jacobson
The Dog's Last Walk: (and Other Pieces) by Howard Jacobson
The Outline trilogy by Rachel Cusk
Into the Fold by Rachel Cusk
Second Place by Rachel Cusk
Self-Portrait by Celia Paul
The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota
China Room by Sunjeev Sahota
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
Night Boat to Tangier by Kevin Barry
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Discomfort of Evening by Lucas Rijneveld, translated by Michele Hutchison
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
Virginia Woolf's Nose by Hermione Lee
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

You can listen to Alex's podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-tls-podcast/id868068396

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An interview with Time Shelter's Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

In our last episode of the year (time flies!), we catch up with International Booker Prize 2023 winners Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel. The winning novel, Time Shelter, follows an enigmatic therapist who runs a ‘clinic for the past’ that offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s sufferers. It was the first book from Bulgaria to win the International Booker – and, in fact, to be shortlisted – and its win has been received with much excitement in Gospodinov's home country and beyond. This week, we catch up with author and translator to find out how the award has changed their lives and what they've been up to since their win.

In this episode Jo and James speak to Georgi and Angela about:

The book, its plot and its themes
What the night of their International Booker Prize win was like
How their lives have changed since winning the prize
What it means for translators to receive recognition alongside the writers they work with
The importance of music in their work
The unique working relationship between writers and translators
Why Bulgarian literature deserves more recognition and which books to look out for

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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December Book of the Month: Any Human Heart by William Boyd Dec 07, 2023

Show notes

Sara Cox, host of BBC Two's TV book club, Between the Covers, joins Jo and James to discuss our December Book of the Month: Any Human Heart by William Boyd. Told through the journals of Logan Mountstuart, it's an engrossing – and often funny – novel that takes in many of the defining events of the 20th century and the people who shaped them. The Booker Prize 2002-longlisted book was recently discussed on Between the Covers, so tune in to our podcast as Sara, James and Jo talk about William Boyd's beloved novel, as well as Sara's own reading habits and inspirations.

In this episode Jo, James and Sara talk about:

The idea behind television book club Between the Covers
The variety of books guests have been bringing to this series of Between the Covers
The novels that got Sara into reading at a young age
Sara's favourite Booker Prize books
How Sara balances reading and her own writing – and whether what she's reading influences her work
What the book clubbers on Between the Covers thought of Any Human Heart
A brief summary of Any Human Heart and a discussion about its plot
Who they'd recommend the book to

Reading List:

Any Human Heart by William Boyd: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/any-human-heart
Life of Pi by Yann Martel: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/life-of-pi
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Pessimism is for Lightweights by Salena Godden
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
Catherine Cookson novels
Jilly Cooper novels
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Doyle: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/paddy-clarke-ha-ha-ha
John Boyne novels
Margaret O'Farrell novels
Redhead by the Side of the Road by Anne Tyler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/redhead-by-the-side-of-the-road
A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-spool-of-blue-thread

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Behind the scenes at the Booker Prize 2023 ceremony Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

Step behind the velvet rope and let Jo and James take you on a VIP tour of the Booker Prize 2023 award ceremony. Listen in as they speak to some of this year's shortlisted authors and judges, as well as other guests at the ceremony and hear, first-hand, how the shortlisted authors felt in the run up to the announcement, how the judges enjoyed being part of the jury and what it feels like to be a guest at one of the most exciting events in the booklover's calendar.

In this episode Jo and James speak to:

Paul Lynch, 2023 Booker Prize winner
Paul Murray, 2023 Booker Prize shortlistee
Robert Webb, 2023 Booker Prize judge
Adjoa Andoh, 2023 Booker Prize judge
Graeme Macrae Burnet, 2016 Booker Prize longlistee
Frederick Studemann, literary editor of the Financial Times

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Bonus Episode: Live Reaction to the Booker Prize 2023 Winner Nov 27, 2023

Show notes

Hot off the press, we're bringing you The Booker Prize Podcast's reaction to the Booker Prize 2023 winner. Recorded at the Booker Prize award ceremony on 26 November, Jo and James share their thoughts on the winning book and hear directly from winner Paul Lynch and Esi Edugyan, chair of judges and previous Booker Prize nominee. That's not all for this week though, as we'll be back with a special episode in our usual Thursday slot.

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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Shehan Karunatilaka's Booker Prize Year Nov 23, 2023

Show notes

We're only three days away from finding out who will take home the Booker Prize 2023 so who better to speak to than last year's winner? Sri Lankan writer Shehan Karunatilaka won the prize for his searing satire The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida in 2022, and the 13 months since his win has been a whirlwind of activity. This week, Shehan joins us on the podcast to tell us all about the past year and what the 2023 winner can expect on the night of the award ceremony and beyond.

In this episode Jo and James speak to Shehan about:

What it's like to be at the Booker Prize award ceremony – and how it felt to be announced as the 2022 winner
The strangeness of winning the Booker Prize amidst economic crisis and civil unrest in Sri Lanka
The impossibility of making an acceptance speech in one minute
Why he paints his fingernails black
How he spent his prize money
The whirlwind that has been the 13 months since he won the Booker Prize
His daily writing and reading routine

Books and authors mentioned:

The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka
Agatha Christie
Salman Rushdie
Raymond Chandler
John le Carré
Armistead Maupin

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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