Booker Prize Shortlist: The Novels in Contention

The End of Everything by M. John Harrison

Following an unexplained catastrophe and the arrival of mysterious alien visitors, British society has been upended, leaving a man and his elderly aunt to get by on the Kent coast. This marks Harrison’s first Booker nomination; at 81, he would become the oldest winner in the prize’s history.

The judges remarked: “The End of Everything functions as a thriller, mystery, satire, dystopia, road novel, and work of realism. Though the setting is bleak and the disaster all-encompassing, the book still contains moments that made us laugh out loud.”

The Disappearers by Marlon James

This visceral epic centres on a violent assault against eight gay men meeting to rehearse a queer play in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1988, and the consequences that follow. The New York Times has described it as “a masterpiece, the novel of the decade and possibly of the century thus far.”

The judges commented: “A Jamaican epic from one of today’s most influential Caribbean novelists; readers will appreciate the shifting register of the dialogue and poetic phrasing, frequently cut through with sharp, double-edged humour.”

Black Bag by Luke Kennard

An out-of-work actor lands an unusual role: confined inside a black bag throughout a term of psychology lectures as part of a professor’s experiment. The narrative develops into a humorous yet poignant satire offering sharp commentary on modern masculinity and creative life.

The judges noted: “In this quirky campus novel, Kennard pairs an absurd premise with a moving tale of human frailty, passion, confusion, and identity. There is something here for every reader.”

May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry

A contemporary museum curator is commissioned to recreate a historical scene within a palace, only to become immersed in the world of a young, reluctant monarch whose life she uncovers. This is Perry’s debut novel; she is also a poet and former competitive trampolinist.

The judges stated: “An affecting, lush jewel of a novel that shifts between the present day and a medieval court, unsettling the notion that any single universal historical truth exists.”

The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

Pulitzer Prize winner and two-time Booker nominee Elizabeth Strout tells the story of a high-school history teacher in his fifties who feels adrift in modern America. When a secret surfaces, he is forced to confront major questions about his relationships and life choices.

The judges observed: “This novel engages with the deeply divisive politics of contemporary America without becoming divisive itself. It is precisely the kind of book we need now: a calm antidote to current events.”

John of John by Douglas Stuart

Stuart’s third novel follows a fashion student drawn back to his home in a small, religious community in the Outer Hebrides during the mid-1990s. Both he and his father harbour secrets—and both are named John.

The judges remarked: “A rich and moving novel about a father and son living on a remote Scottish island in the 1990s, where small-town secrets and buried shame reverberate with surprising, devastating, and even joyous effect.”

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