“It’s fair to call it a sports novel. It’s also been called a coming-of-age novel, a domestic novel, a novel about grief, a novel about the immigrant experience,” says Chetna Maroo, the Kenya-born Londoner who has made it to the shortlist of the 2023 Booker Prize with her debut ‘Western Lane’.
“Recently a friend asked me if the book has something of the detective story about it, with Gopi trying to find her way, piecing together the clues of small gestures, actions and fragments of overheard conversations; she has little to go on and since she’s dealing with the mysteries of loss, there are no answers for her,” she shares.
In ‘Western Lane’, the shortest book on the shortlist at 161 pages, three British-Indian sisters are coming to terms with the death of their mother.
The Booker Prize is the world’s most significant award for the best sustained work of fiction written in English by authors from anywhere in the world and published in the UK and/or Ireland. The judges chose the final six novels from 13 longlisted titles, which were selected from 163 books published between October 2022 and September 2023 and submitted by publishers. All the shortlisted authors receive £2,500 and a bespoke bound edition of their book.
Maroo, the only British novelist to make it to this year’s shortlist, will go head-to-head with five other writers for the coveted £50,000 literary prize:
· Sarah Bernstein (Canadian) – ‘Study for Obedience’
· Jonathan Escoffery (American) – ‘If I Survive You’
· Paul Harding (American) – ‘This Other Eden’
· Paul Lynch (Irish) – ‘Prophet Song’
· Paul Murray (Irish) – ‘The Bee Sting’
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Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan, chair of the 2023 judges, said: “The best novels invoke a sense of timelessness even while saying something about how we live now. Our six finalists are marvels of form.
“Some look unflinchingly at the ways in which trauma can be absorbed and passed down through the generations, as much an inheritance as a well-worn object or an unwanted talent. Some turn a gleeful, dissecting eye on everyday encounters. Some paint visceral portraits of societies pushed to the edge of tolerance. All are fuelled by a kind of relentless truth-telling, even when that honesty forces us to confront dark acts. And yet however long we may pause in the shadows, humour, decency, and grace are never far from hand.”
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, added: “This is truly a list without borders. It includes a Briton of Indian descent, an American of Jamaican descent, a Canadian recently named one of Granta’s Best Young British Novelists, and two Irish authors.”
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The 2023 winner will be announced on November 26 at an award ceremony in London and also receive a trophy named “Iris” in honour of the 1978 Booker winner Iris Murdoch.
*Info: Booker Prize 2023