Books that made the 2018 Man Booker Prize Longlist

The ‘Man Booker Dozen' or the 13-book longlist for the Man Booker Prize for 2018 was announced. This year the books were chosen from a list of 171 submissions, which is the highest number of titles put forward in the prize’s 50 year history. The chair of judges this year include Kwame Anthony Appiah (Chair), Val McDermid, Leo Robson, Jacqueline Rose, and Leanne Shapton. Here are the longlisted books.

'Snap' is a thrilling mystery about a mother who disappears leaving three young children alone in the car. Three years later, as they struggle to live without her, the eldest child discovers a harrowing truth.The judges called the book an “acute, stylish, intelligent novel about how we survive trauma”, that “undermines the tropes of its own genre and leaves us with something that lingers”.
Photo: Penguin Random House

'Milkman' is a brilliant tale about gossip and the way it moves in social circles. The story is about how the protagonist tries to keep her encounter with the milkman a secret. However, rumours spread and all it's consequences are surprising and amusing. The beauty of this book is the way the story is told.
Photo: Faber & Faber

'Sabrina' is the first graphic novel to ever make the Man Booker longlist.Author Zadie Smith praises teh book as "the best book—in any medium" and "a masterpiece, beautifully written and drawn, possessing all the political power of polemic and yet simultaneously all the delicacy of truly great art." A sequel to Nick Drnaso’s 'Beverly', Sabrina illustrates the contemporary world as one devoid of personal interaction, warmth, and responsibility. Drnaso concocts a society created by fake news.
Photo: Granta Books

Set in 1830,story is about a young slave and his special relationship with his eccentric owner, the naturalist and explorer Chirstopher Wilde. When a man is killed one night, 11-year-old Washington is left at the mercy of his master and Chirstopher has to choose between his family and his slave. What follows is a great adventure and an extraordinary journey testing their physical, intellectual and emotional roles.
Photo: Serpent’s Tail

Set in London, this book shows how cities have many sides and layers and we can live our whole lives not knowing other sides to our home. The story follows three friends -- Selvon, Ardan, and Yusuf. When a soldier dies and there are riots around town, the three friends are all affected. However, Yusuf has to deal with the growing radicalism in his mosque as well. The book was described as “an inner city novel for our times”.
Photo: Tinder Press

Daisy Johnson’s debut novel renders modern-day England unfamiliar to readers by working on a story around a classical myth. 'Everything Under' is a moving tale of Gretel who lived on a canal boat with her mother before her mother disappeared. Now that she's grown up to be a lexicographer and enjoys her solitude, a phone call disrupts her and takes her back to some thoughts Gretel did not know she remembered.
Photo: Penguin Random House

'The Mars Room' takes the readers to a women's prison at the Stanville Women’s Correctional Facility. The book illustrates the story of a woman who has two consecutive life sentences under her name, with an additional six years. The book has been described by the judges as “terrifyingly authentic”.
Photo: Penguin Random House

The book is a haunting dystopian fiction that echoes our worst fears, very close to reality. The story follows sisters Grace, Lia, and Sky, who are kept "safe" from the rest of the world for their own protection and are taught every horrible thing that a woman should learn about love. These sisters do exactly what was asked for them not to do: mingle with hungry men. The judges say that the book “unpicks patriarchy at its core”.
Photo: Penguin Random House

Just two weeks after Ondaatje won the Golden Man Booker for his book 'The English Patient' at the 50th anniversary of the Man Booker Prize, his latest book Warlight got longlisted for the Man Booker 2018 Prize. He has already won the Booker in 1992. 'Warlight' takes us to London 1945 where two children are left in the care of a person called The Moth. His odd crew of friends seems quite determined to take care of them. Years later, the reason behind such bizzare things are uncovered.
Photo: Penguin Random House

Richard Powers is a National Book Award winner and also a Pulitzer-winning novelist. In his twelfth novel 'The Overstory', Powers tells the story of Douggie Pavlicek, a Vietnam War veteran who reinvents himself as a radical eco-activist. This is a story of the trees being cut down, and brings in a sense of magic as a handful of humans from different walks of life are chosen by the trees to help protect the last few forests that remain. Filled with vivid descriptions of the beauty of the natural world, this book reminds us of the beauty we're letting slip away.
Photo: richardpowers.net

In a mixture of verse and prose, the author tells the tale of a soldier with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder who can't settle in his rural home after all he's been through and goes on a journey of to find himself and heal.
Photo: Pan Macmillan

This is a simple tale of two girls from the same town with different backgrounds that is beautiful for the way it's written. Though it is essentially about love, the book is quite political as well and lives up to the hype of her last book. Though it seems to be about the mundane, the insights and obervations and her compelling writing will make the book unforgettable.
Photo: Faber and Faber

Three men with incredible different stories are all lost in their own way. One's home is torn apart by war, one has a past he can't seem to leave behind and one has had his heart broken by a girl. In their search for a home they are bought together in wonderful ways. Well paced and engrossing, Ryan's writing really draws the reader in.
Photo: Penguin Random House