STENTORIAN VOICES
Talk of the Town
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Predicting the Winner of
The Booker Prize 2025
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Najam-uddin Ahmad
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As it is decided by a panel of judges, therefore, it’s not quite possible to definitely prognosticate who will scoop the prize. However, Andrew Miller’s “The Land in Winter” is a strong favorite. But Kiran Desai’s “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” and Ben Markovits’ “The Rest of Our Lives” are also considered as strong contenders.
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Since the announcement of shortlist predictions about the winner of the Booker Prize 2025 are a hot topic. The Booker Foundation unveiled six brilliant novels written by six brilliant veteran writers. Each of the six shortlisted authors will receives £2,500, and “a specially bound edition of their book.” The winner will be announced Monday, Nov. 10, in a ceremony, who will receive £50,000. As it is decided by a panel of judges, therefore it’s not quite possible to definitely prognosticate who will scoop the prize.
Also, it has become more difficult after the statement of Roddy Doyle, Chair of the Prize 2025 judges: “The six (shortlisted books) have two big things in common. Their authors are in total command of their own store of English, their own rhythm, their own expertise; they have each crafted a novel that no one else could have written.
“And all of the books, in six different and very fresh ways, find their stories in the examination of the individual trying to live with – to love, to seek attention from, to cope with, to understand, to keep at bay, to tolerate, to escape from – other people.”
Shortlisted Authors and Books:
Moreover, the 2025 shortlist consists of three male and three female authors. Three writers, Susan Choi, Katie Kituamura, and Ben Markowitz, are on the shortlist for the first time. Whereas, Andrew Miller and David Szlay are on it for the second time.
Flashlight — Susan Choi
Susan Choi’s sixth novel is based on her short story published in The New Yorker. The novel “Flashlight” begins with a mysterious event of vanishing of 10 year old little girl Louisa’s ethnic Korean father, Serk, during a night walk on breakwater in Japan. The protagonist Louisa and her mother Anne return to America. Although, they try to move on from the trauma, but the grief and mystery continue to haunt them. Furthermore, he novel is narrated from the perspectives of multiple characters. And, major themes explored in the novel are history, war, memory, family and struggle of the immigrants. Also, it delves into impact of global conflicts on the individuals and a never escape from their past.
In her interview to the Foundation, she told, “It was a combination of being haunted by childhood memories of a trip to Japan – that was not catastrophic but was still very disruptive – and by stories about the unexplained disappearances, in the late 1970s, of ordinary Japanese people, including a schoolgirl not much older than me.” Simultaneously, she also said, “Reading a great book feels like being dropped onto an alien planet”.
Choi told NPR about Flashlight: “I like the novel kind of wrote itself like a snail shell. It just kept spiraling outward in both directions.”
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny — Kiran Desai
Kiran Desai is winner of the Booker Prize 2006 for her tragicomic novel “The Inheritance of Loss”. Her shortlisted novel “The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny” is “A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years — an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity”. As she has spent about 20 years in writing this novel the Booker Prize Judges hailed: “a magical realist fable within a social novel within a love story.”
As an aspiring novelist Sonia experiences loneliness during her college days in Vermont. An intimate artist cast a dark spell upon her, which haunt her continuously. Whereas, Sunny is a journalist, struggling with his mother’s expectations with a feeling of torn between two cultures. Therefore, the novel explores their isolation of living abroad and emotional distance within families in diverse ways. Moreover, it depicts a love story beyond a straightforward way. Also, it tells creation of art, pain of loneliness as a strong urge for creativity, and profound human needs to forge connections.
While, in her interview she said, “I wanted to write a present-day romance with an old-fashioned beauty”. She add, “But a love story in today’s globalised world would likely wander in so many different directions.” Furthermore, she told about her characters, “My characters consider: Why this person? Why not as easily someone else? Why here, not there?” And, “In the past people were always where they had to be.”
Audition — Katie Kitamura
Audition is a novel about an unnamed narrator — an actress — who has a bizarre lunch with a young man who claims to be her son. The story is divided into two opposite and ambiguous narrations. One, where she denies the claim because of her past miscarriage, and the other, where that young man is her son. So, it is an abruptly shift in the narrative, presenting a competing reality. As the novel is an exploration of themes of identity, conception, and reality, therefore, it explores the “gap between how we are perceived… and who we really are”. And, enigmas to decipher hidden behind metaphors and images, puzzling the reader. Hence, it delves into the performance of identity and explores people’s role in their relationships and reality’s kind of performance.
And, the novel challenges the reader’s assumptions, suggesting multiple ways of interpretations of the events with no clear answer to what is “real”. The Booker Judges rightly claimed, “An exhilarating, destabilising novel that asks whether we ever really knows people we love”.
In her interview to NPR Katie Kitamura told that she got the idea for Audition from a headline. She told, “The headline said, a stranger told me he was my son.” She further said, “I was completely captivated by the idea that in a single encounter, in a single moment, everything you understand about yourself and your place in the world could be overturned.”
The Rest of Our Lives — Ben Markovits
The novel is about an unforgettable road trip of a middle-aged academic whose marriage, career and body are failing him. When 55-year-old law Professor Tom Layward’s wife had an affair, he resolved to leave her as soon as his youngest daughter turned 18. So, he embarks on an unplanned trip after dropping off her daughter at University. And, he keeps driving, with the vague plan of visiting various people from his past – an old college friend, his ex-girlfriend, his brother, his son – on route, maybe, to his father’s grave. Pitch perfect, quietly exhilarating and moving, The Rest of Our Lives is a novel about family, marriage and those moments which may come to define us. In view of above, The novel explores the complexities of long-term marriage, the challenges of aging, the empty nest syndrome, and the process of self-reflection. Additionally, a sub-plot of Tom Layward’s continuous physical health, mirroring his emotional state is also involved. But he ignores them.
Therefore, The Booker judges commented on the former professional basketball player Ben Markovits’ novel as a “remarkably satisfying road trip full of strangers, friends, and self-discovery.” While in his interview Markovits said, “My kids were getting older and I wanted to write something about a certain period of family life coming to an end.” Also, he said, “It’s matter of fact, effortlessly warm, and it uses the smallest parts of human behaviour to uphold bigger themes, like mortality, sickness, and love.”
The Land in Winter — Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller’s third novel Oxygen was shortlisted in 2001. Hence, The Land in Winter is his second book shortlisted for the Prize, but 10th novel to his name. Since, the novel narrates themes of life, death, failure, and liberation as the confronting and turning points of three major characters. First, Alec who has returned home to care for his dying mother with terminal cancer. Second, Alec’s brother, Larry, who is facing a failing career and marriage. And third one is a Hungarian émigré playwright, Laszlo, who is haunted by his memories of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Eventually, these parallel narratives converge after unfolding the story. So, The Guardian noted, “The novel is known for its profound and often poetic exploration of difficult topics like terminal illness.” Moreover, it wrote further, “Miller turns to the difficulty of loving in an unlovely world.”
“An anecdote of my mother’s that rattled around in my head for many years. Also a wish to reach back to a period that was right at the furthest stretch of what I could in any way claim to remember. And to try to make a certain kind of novel – lots of flow and momentum, and full of narrative pleasures.” he said in his interview. As well, he proclaimed, “I’ll write anywhere, with anything, on anything.”
Flesh — David Szalay
Like Andrew Miller, Flesh is the second novel of David Szalay shortlisted for the Prize. Previously, his novel All That Man Is was shortlisted in 2016.
The novel is set in Hungary. A story of a young man namely István from his teen years into adulthood. It begins with protagonist’s isolation and his clandestine relationship with her neighbor in her 40s, which consequently leads to hostility with her husband. Following the incident, István’s life is marked by uncontrollable external forces, and a life increasingly buffeted due to global economics. As István moves through a series of upheavals in the financial world. He elevates himself from poverty to wealth and then, eventually, to economic decline. The novel explores themes of masculinity, sexual and power desires, and the feeling of being adrift in the 21st century, and the forces of the global economy on an ordinary man’s life.
The novel has gained praised from the press like The Guardian, NPR, The New York Times, etc.
“I wanted to write about what it’s like to be a living body in the world,” in his interview David Szalay told the Booker Foundation, “It can be hard to identify the starting point of a novel. Flesh sort of evolved into existence. I knew I wanted to write a book with a Hungarian end and an English end, since I was living very much between the two countries at the time and felt that that needed to be reflected in my choice of subject.”
Now, here are the bookmakers’ odds for the favorite books:
Odds & Implied Probability
Book & Author Odd Implied Probability
The Land in Winter 2/1 33.3%
– Andrew Miller
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny 5/2 8.6%
– Kiran Desai
The Rest of Our Lives 5/1 16.7%
– Ben Markovits
Audition 6/1 14.3%
– Katie Kitamura
Book & Author Odd Implied Probability
The Land in Winter 2/1 33.3%
– Andrew Miller
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny 5/2 8.6%
– Kiran Desai
The Rest of Our Lives 5/1 16.7%
– Ben Markovits
Audition 6/1 14.3%
– Katie Kitamura
Since, most of the six authors have more than five books to their names. And, it’s not possible to definitively predict the winner of the Booker Prize, as it is decided by a panel of judges. However, bookmakers’ odds and critical buzz suggest that Andrew Miller with The Land in Winter is a strong favorite, with Kiran Desai (The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny) and Ben Markovits (The Rest of Our Lives) also considered strong contenders. And finally, they suggest that Andrew Miller’s “The Land in Winter” is a strong favorite (2/1) to win the Booker Prize 2025, ahead of Kiran Desai’s The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny (5/2).
But, what do you guess? Please, let’s know your views in the below comments section.
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Born on June 02, 1971, is an Urdu novelist and short story writer. He did his masters in English Literature from Islamia University, Bahawalpur in 1996.
So far, Najam-uddin Ahmad has published three novel and two collections of short stories. Moreover, He is also renowned for his translations from English into Urdu. Presently, He has seven books of translations on his credit.
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