![\"Man](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Man-Booker-International-Prize.jpg?resize=624%2C351\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The\u00a02016 Man Booker International Prize longlist has been announced!<\/p>\n
Though it has been around for just over a decade,\u00a02016 is the prize’s\u00a0first year\u00a0since its\u00a0merger with the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The Man Booker International Prize\u00a0used to be awarded every two years for an author’s complete work. This included authors writing in English; indeed, somewhat controversially, four of the prize’s six winners write in English. That’s in the past now, though, as in this new incarnation\u00a0it takes on the general characteristics of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and will be\u00a0awarded annually\u00a0to a single book translated into English and published in the United Kingdom (this year’s longlist is from books published\u00a0between January 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016). The \u00a350,000 prize is split equally between the author and the translator of the winning book.<\/p>\n
Below, find the thirteen books, their descriptions, and links to reviews.<\/p>\n
Let me know what you think!<\/p>\n
Me? I think this is fantastic! I’ve read only one of the books (Han Kang’s The Vegetarian<\/em>), and I’m genuinely excited by the tone and character this particular longlist sets up for\u00a0this new iteration of The Man Booker International Prize!<\/p>\n The shortlist will be announced on April 14; the winner on May 16.<\/p>\n A General Theory of Oblivion<\/em><\/strong><\/span> A General Theory of Oblivion <\/em>is a wild patchwork of a novel that tells the story of Angola through Ludo, a woman who bricks herself into her apartment on the eve of Angolan independence. For the next 30 years she lives off vegetables and pigeons, and burns her furniture to stay warm. But the outside world seeps in, through snippets on the radio, voices from next door, glimpses of a man fleeing his pursuers and a note attached to a bird\u2019s foot. Until one day she meets Sabalu, a young boy from the street who climbs up to her terrace. With the author\u2019s trademark playfulness, humor and warmth, A General Theory of Oblivion <\/i>is a dazzling novel of human drama and the thrills, hopes and dangers of radical change.<\/p>\n The Story of the Lost Child<\/strong><\/em><\/span> The fourth and final installment of the Neapolitan Novels series, The Story of the Lost Child<\/i> is the dazzling saga of the friendship between two women: brilliant, bookish Elena and fiery, uncontainable Lila. Both women fought to escape the neighborhood in which they grew up: a prison of conformity, violence, and inviolable taboos. Having moved to Florence, started a family, and published several well-received books, Elena returns to be with the man she has always loved. Lila, on the other hand, never succeeded in freeing herself from Naples. Her entrepreneurial success draws her into closer proximity to the nepotism, chauvinism, and criminal violence that infect her neighborhood; she becomes the unacknowledged leader of the world she has always rejected.\u00a0Against the backdrop of a Naples that is as seductive as it is perilous and a world undergoing epochal change, this story of a lifelong friendship is told with unmatched honesty.<\/p>\n The Vegetarian<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Yeong-hye and her husband are ordinary people. He is an office worker with moderate ambitions and mild manners; she is an uninspired but dutiful wife. The acceptable flatline of their marriage is interrupted when Yeong-hye, seeking a more \u2018plant-like\u2019 existence, commits a shocking act of subversion. As her rebellion manifests in ever more bizarre and frightening forms, Yeong-hye spirals further and further into her fantasies of abandoning her fleshly prison and becoming\u00a0— impossibly, ecstatically\u00a0— a tree. Fraught, disturbing, and beautiful, The Vegetarian <\/b><\/i>is a novel about modern day South Korea, but also a novel about shame, desire, and our faltering attempts to understand others, from one imprisoned body to another.<\/p>\n Mend the Living<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Early one blustery day near Le Havre, three teenagers head down to the sea together to go surfing. They are old friends: Chris, Johan and Simon. But life will never be the same again. A terrible accident rips them apart, and while Chris and Johan escape with only a few broken bones, Simon ends up in a coma and on life-support. Meanwhile, in Paris, Claire Mejan is desperately waiting for a heart transplant. Suffering from myocarditis, a transplant offers her the only chance for survival. As Simon\u2019s parents face a heart-breaking decision, Simon and Claire\u2019s lives will be fatefully joined.<\/p>\n Man Tiger<\/em><\/strong><\/span> A wry, affecting tale set in a small town on the Indonesian coast, Man Tiger <\/i>tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families, and of Margio, a young man ordinary in all particulars except that he conceals within himself a supernatural female white tiger. The inequities and betrayals of family life coalesce around and torment this magical being. An explosive act of violence follows, and its mysterious cause is unraveled as events progress toward a heart-breaking revelation.<\/p>\n The Four Books<\/em><\/strong><\/span> In the ninety-ninth district of a sprawling labour camp, the Author, Musician, Scholar, Theologian and Technician are undergoing Re-education, to restore their revolutionary zeal and credentials. In charge of this process is the Child, who delights in draconian rules, monitoring behaviour and confiscating treasured books. The inmates — and hundreds of intellectuals just like them — must meet challenges set by the higher-ups: to grow an ever-spiraling amount of wheat, and to smelt vast quantities of steel. The stakes are high: they can win their freedom if they are awarded enough of the small red blossoms. Medium red blossoms and pentagonal stars are given out for effort, obedience, and informing on others. But when bad weather arrives, followed by the \u2018three bitter years\u2019 of The Great Famine, the intellectuals are abandoned by the regime and left on their own to survive. Divided into four narratives, echoing the texts of Confucianism and the four Gospels of the New Testament, The Four Books <\/i>tells the story of one of China\u2019s most controversial periods. It shows us the power of camaraderie, love and faith against oppression and the darkest odds.<\/p>\n Tram 83<\/em><\/strong><\/span> In a war-torn African city-state tourists of all languages and nationalities converge with students, ex-pats and locals. They have only one desire: to make a fortune by exploiting the mineral wealth of the country, both mineral and human. As soon as night falls, they go out to get drunk, dance, eat and abandon themselves in Tram 83, the only night-club of the city, the den of all iniquities.<\/p>\n Lucien, a professional writer, fleeing the exactions and the censorship, of the Back-Country, finds refuge in the city thanks to Requiem, a friend. Requiem lives mainly on theft and on swindle while Lucien only thinks of writing and living honestly. Around them gravitate gangsters and young girls, retired or runaway men, profit-seeking tourists and federal agents of a non-existent State.<\/p>\n Tram 83 <\/em>plunges the reader into the atmosphere of a gold rush as cynical as it is comic and colorfully exotic. It’s an observation of human relationships in a world that has become a global village, an African-rhapsody novel hammered by rhythms of jazz.<\/p>\n A Cup of Rage<\/em><\/strong><\/span> A pair of lovers\u00a0— a young female journalist and an older man who owns an isolated farm in the Brazilian outback\u00a0— spend the night together. The next day they proceed to destroy each other. Amid vitriolic insults, cruelty and warring egos, their sexual adventure turns into a savage power game. This intense, erotic cult novel by one of Brazil’s most infamous modernist writers explores alienation, the desire to dominate and the wish to be dominated.<\/p>\n Ladivine<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Clarisse Rivi\u00e8re\u2019s life is shaped by a refusal to admit to her husband Richard and to her daughter Ladivine that her mother is a poor black housekeeper. Instead, weighed down by guilt, she pretends to be an orphan, visiting her mother in secret and telling no-one of her real identity as Malinka, daughter of Ladivine Sylla. In time, her lies turn against her. Richard leaves Clarisse, frustrated by the unbridgeable, indecipherable gulf between them. Clarisse is devastated, but finds solace in a new man, Freddy Moliger, who is let into the secret about her mother, and is even introduced to her. But Ladivine, her daughter, who is now married herself, cannot shake a bad feeling about her mother\u2019s new lover, convinced that he can bring only chaos and pain into her life. When she is proved right, in the most tragic circumstances, the only comfort the family can turn to requires a leap of faith beyond any they could have imagined if it is to be embraced. Centred around three generations of women, whose seemingly cursed lineage is defined by the weight of origins, the pain of alienation and the legacy of shame, Ladivine is a bewildering, beguiling story of secrets, lies, guilt and forgiveness by one of Europe’s most unique literary voices.<\/p>\n Death by Water<\/em><\/strong><\/span> For the first time in his long life, Nobel laureate Kogito Choko is suffering from writer’s block. The book that he wishes to write would examine the turbulent relationship he had with his father, and the guilt he feels about being absent the night his father drowned in a storm-swollen river. But how to write about a man he never really knew? When his estranged sister unexpectedly calls, she offers Choko a remedy\u00a0— she has in her possession an old and mysterious red trunk, the contents of which promise to unlock the many secrets of the man who disappeared from their lives decades before.<\/p>\n White Hunger<\/em><\/strong><\/span> 1867: a year of devastating famine in Finland. Marja, a farmer\u2019s wife from the north, sets off on foot through the snow with her two young children. Their goal: St Petersburg, where people say there is bread. Others are also heading south, just as desperate to survive. Ruuni, a boy she meets, seems trustworthy. But can anyone really help? This extraordinary Finnish novella questions what it takes to survive.<\/p>\n A Strangeness in My Mind<\/strong><\/em><\/span> A Strangeness in My Mind <\/em>is the story of boza seller Mevlut, the woman to whom he wrote three years’ worth of love letters, and their life in Istanbul. In the four decades between 1969 and 2012, Mevlut works a number of different jobs on the streets of Istanbul, from selling yoghurt and cooked rice to guarding a car park. He observes many different kinds of people thronging the streets, he watches most of the city get demolished and re-built, and he sees migrants from Anatolia making a fortune; at the same time, he witnesses all of the transformative moments, political clashes, and military coups that shape the country. He always wonders what it is that separates him from everyone else – the source of that strangeness in his mind. But he never stops selling boza during winter evenings and trying to understand who his beloved really is. What matters more in love: what we wish for, or what our fate has in store? Do our choices dictate whether we will be happy or not, or are these things determined by forces beyond our control? A Strangeness In My Mind <\/i>explores these questions while portraying the tensions between urban life and family life, and the fury and helplessness of women inside their homes.<\/p>\n
\n
\nby Jos\u00e9 Eduardo Agualusa<\/span>
\ntranslated from the\u00a0Portuguese by Daniel Hahn<\/span>
\nAngola<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-General-Theory-of-Oblivion.jpg?fit=188%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-General-Theory-of-Oblivion-US.jpg?fit=254%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Jethro Soutar in The Independent<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Dustin Illingworth in The Quarterly Conversation<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n![\"Available](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Story-of-the-Lost-Child-190x300.jpg?resize=190%2C300\")
\nby Elena Ferrante<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Italian by Ann Goldstein<\/span>
\nItaly<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Michiko Kakutani in The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Alex Clark in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Han Kang<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Korean by Deborah Smith<\/span>
\nSouth Korea<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Vegetarian.jpg?fit=188%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/The-Vegetarian.jpg?fit=198%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Lori Feathers in Words Without Borders<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Julia Pascal in the\u00a0 Independent<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Maylis de Kerangal<\/span>
\ntranslated from the French by Jessica Moore
\n(note, U.S. edition is The Heart<\/em> and was translated by Sam Taylor)<\/span>
\nFrance<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Mending-the-Living.jpg?fit=187%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Mending-the-Living-The-Heart-US.jpg?fit=239%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~M.A. Orthofer in The Complete Review<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~M. John Harrison in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Man-Tiger-199x300.jpg?resize=199%2C300\")
\nby Eka Kurniawan<\/span>
\ntranslated from the\u00a0Indonesian by Labodalih Sembiring<\/span>
\nIndonesia<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Jon Fasman in The New York Times<\/em> (also reviewing Kurniawan’s Beauty Is a Wound<\/em>)<\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~M.A. Orthofer in The Complete Review<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Yan Lianke<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Chinese by Carlos Rojas<\/span>
\nChina<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Four-Books.jpg?fit=195%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/The-Four-Books-US.jpg?fit=199%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~David Evans in The Financial Times<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Isabel Hilton in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Fiston Mwanza Mujila<\/span>
\ntranslated from the French by Roland Glasser<\/span>
\nDemocratic Republic of Congo<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Tram-83.jpg?fit=196%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Tram-83-US.jpg?fit=194%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~John Powers at NPR Books<\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~M.A. Orthofer in The Complete Review<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Cup-of-Rage-196x300.jpg?resize=196%2C300\")
\nby Raduan Nassar<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Portuguese by Stefan Tobler<\/span>
\nBrazil<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Malcom Forbes\u00a0in The National<\/em> (also reviewing Nassar’s Acient Tillage<\/em>)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Marie NDiaye<\/span>
\ntranslated from the French by Jordan Stump<\/span>
\nFrance<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ladivine.jpg?fit=223%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Ladivine-US.jpg?fit=201%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Adele King in World Literature Today<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~The Library Journal<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Kenzaburo Oe<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Japanese by Deborah Boliner Boem<\/span>
\nJapan<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Death-by-Water.jpg?fit=194%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Death-by-Water-US.jpg?fit=202%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Janice P. Nimura in The New York Times<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~M.A. Orthofer in The Complete Review<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n![\"White](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/White-Hunger-190x300.jpg?resize=190%2C300\")
\nby Aki Ollikainen<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Finish by Emily Jeremiah & Fleur Jeremiah<\/span>
\nFinland<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Ben Paynter in The Los Angeles Review of Books<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n
\nby Orhan Pamuk<\/span>
\ntranslated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap<\/span>
\nTurkey<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Strangeness-in-My-Mind.jpg?fit=196%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/A-Strangeness-in-My-Mind-US.jpg?fit=202%2C300&ssl=1\")
\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Adam Kirsch in Washington Post<\/em><\/a><\/li>\n
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 ~Dwight Garner in