Booker Prize Fiction
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded annually to a writer from the British Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland—and, since last year, to a writer of any nationality writing in English--for the best full-length novel published in the UK. In this seminar, we will study a selection of winners since the award was established in 1968. Readings will reflect a diversity of writers, settings, and styles, such as Penelope Lively’s Moon Tiger (1987), Peter Cary's Oscar and Lucinda (1988), Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989), Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient (1992), J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace (1997), Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (1999), Yann Martel’s Life of Pi/ (2001), Richard Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North/ (2014) and the 2015 winner, to be announced in October. Topics of research and discussion will include literary innovation, authorial reputation, the politics of prizes, publicity, and film adaptation. 3 hrs. sem.