Top 10 Booker Prize Winning Books You Can Read in Russian

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

If there is a quality mark in the world of literature, it is undoubtedly the Booker Prize. Not every author has a chance to get it, but if a writer and his book were shortlisted or nominated for the prize itself, then that says a lot. That is why the prize itself, and not only its results, attracts increased attention from literature lovers. The laureates receive not only a cash prize, but also world recognition.

Schindler's List, Thomas Keneally, 1982

There is no need to expect a highly artistic syllable from this work; rather, it may seem a little dry. But the novel is dedicated to a man who, during the Second World War, saved about one and a half thousand people from death in concentration camps. The author tried to fit in the book as much information as possible about the feat of the German industrialist Oskar Schindler. And in the novel, he appears not as a saint, but simply as a man, each act of which had its own motives, but their result is life.

The Rest of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989

It was this book that the Booker Prize jury called "one of the most English novels of the 20th century." In fact, everything in the book is literally saturated with the atmosphere of England during the Second World War. The reader will have to see, together with the ideal butler Stephens, what the members of very wealthy English families were ready for in order to achieve their goal.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje 1992

The novel was deservedly recognized as the best of all Booker Prize laureates in 50 years and became the owner of the Golden Booker, awarded in 2018. The work will give you real pleasure with its thoughtful narration, in which the fate of the heroes, the events of World War II and memories will be intertwined. And the most important thing will be the idea that each person is not ideal at all, and different motives and goals can be hidden at the root of his actions.

The Blind Killer, Margaret Atwood, 2000

Despite the complex and rather convoluted narrative with several storylines at once, it is still worth overpowering in order to enjoy the multi-layered, eventful plot and faceless pauses filled with newspaper clippings. As a result, the author got a certain contrast from tension to calmness, from engagement of the reader to indifferent acceptance of information.

Life of Pi, Yann Martel, 2002

This book by a Canadian author is in some way unique for Booker. She is distinguished by a fantastic, but at the same time very fascinating plot. Here there are not only philosophical reflections on faith and the meaning of life, but also a dynamic development of events, which forces one not to break away from reading from the first to the last page. The book became a real bestseller, and its film adaptation was able to win the Oscar in four nominations at once.

The Narrow Road to the Far North by Richard Flanagan, 2014

The work became a kind of tribute to the memory of those prisoners of war who paid with their lives for the construction of the infamous Thai-Burma railway, called the Death Road. Its victims were 90 thousand Asian convicts and 16 thousand prisoners of war. This novel has a special meaning for Richard Flanagan himself, whose father was able to get out alive from the crucible of Japanese concentration camps.

A Brief History of the Seven Kills, Marlon James, 2015

The book by the Jamaican author is distinguished by a beautiful style and intricate plot, in the center of which are the events of 1976, when an attempt was made on Bob Marley's life. True, Marlon James has significantly expanded the time frame, capturing a period of several decades in his narrative. There will be no special romance in the work, just as there will be no talk only about the "king of reggae". The author will allow the reader to plunge with him into the atmosphere of the Jamaican ghetto and hear the opinion of each hero and narrator about what is happening.

The Selling Thing, Paul Baity, 2016

It is worth paying attention to this novel if only because its author became the first American to receive the Booker Prize. The publishers did not immediately consider the author's talent in this provocative and very unusual work. Perhaps they were simply afraid to publish it, because the manuscript was rejected 18 times, and the topics covered in the novel were too serious. Paul Baity managed to convey his thoughts about political correctness, racism and law enforcement bias not in the form of tangled philosophical reflections, but through the prism of humor and sparkling jokes.

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders, 2017

It is almost impossible to pass by this literary experiment conducted by the author. His events develop simultaneously in two worlds and somewhere on the border of life and death. An unusual form of narration complements the author's thought, fully revealing the beauty of the plan and the idea of the suddenness of a person's life path. The narration of the events of just one night, when the soul of the son of US President Abraham Lincoln, William, is in the bardo, the very borderline state between life and death, will give food for thought.

The Milkman, Anna Burns, 2018

This book is complex, brilliant and tragic at the same time. Not every reader will be able to appreciate the long and slightly convoluted monologue of the protagonist, especially since the story of completely terrible times is conducted in a very simple language. But the book will certainly leave a deep imprint on the mind of a person who will understand and pity this strange girl who has been persecuted by a married man.

Modern Russian writers are also confidently winning over foreign readers, Moreover, books of various genres and trends are popular. And some of them even become nominees for the prestigious Booker Prize.