I think I detect a little fatigue among my fellow Shadow Panelists, a disenchantment with the political or commercial choices that go into the longlist and then shortlist selections for the International Booker. I am still relatively new to the Shadow Panel (this is my third year), but even I am starting to mourn the books that miss out on the longlist or shortlist. Yet, please believe me that we were not being deliberately rebellious or annoying when our winner (and the runner-up) ended up being two books from the Shadow Panel shortlist rather than the official one. They were the two that scored highest with all of us throughout the process.
Our winner is The Wax Child by Olga Ravn, translated from Danish by Martin Aitken. Although the story of 16th or 17th century witch hunts in Europe is not a new subject, the way that this story is told (through the eyes of a wax doll created by one of the women as a sort of crutch for suffering miscarriages) feels fresh and innovative. The language is beautifully crafted, hitting you often deep in the gut with its immediacy, never feeling too flowery simply for the sake of being flowery. It is very different from Ravn’s other books, which shows the versatility of her talent.
Our runner-up is The Remembered Soldier by Anjet Daanje, translated from Dutch by David McKay. Although I found the verbal tic of starting each sentence with ‘And…’ annoying and unnecessary, the story and characterisations were very gripping, nuanced and moving. It was a long, long book but I never struggled to finish it.
Neither of these two books made the official shortlist, much to the Shadow Panel’s surprise. Of the ones that did, I am now hoping that my personal favourite (the two above were Nos. 2 and 3 respectively among my choices) Taiwan Travelogue by Yang Shuang-Zi, translated by Lin King. This is not just because of my predilection for East Asian literature, but because it does such an interesting job of examining colonialism – within a country and within our own minds. It also felt like a much fresher subject, that has been less explored in literature than wars in Europe or witchcraft.
However, if I dare to make a prediction, since the International Booker is trying desperately to appeal to a younger audience, and since apparently the book below has been popular among younger readers, it may well be that She Who Remains by Rene Karabash, translated by Izidora Angel might be the official winner.
As a fun extra, I wanted to ask you which of the two covers you prefer for The Wax Child? The one with the cradle is published by indie (mostly academic) publisher Norton & Co, the fiery woman is published by Viking, now owned by Penguin Random House.
And now let’s see who the official winner will be tonight! Good luck to all of the hard-working authors and translators out there.
findingtimetowrite 