Booker Shortlist 2021: The Promise

Is this looking promising for the win?

BookWorm:  

Why it Could Win:.When I first read this I called it as a potential Booker book and I was right.

Why it Might Not Win:  The book doesn’t focus enough on the titular promise instead that part of the story is largely avoided. I would have liked more details around the promise and less running away from it.

Tracy:

Why it Could Win: It’s well written, and has mainstream appeal.

Why it Might Not Win: It’s a story that has been told before, and better. (Doris Lessing’s The Grass is Singing comes to mind)

Nicole:

Why it Could Win:  It’s a sad and touching story, beautifully written that deals with South Africa apartheid without necessarily knocking you on the head about it.

Why it Might Not Win:  Mixed reviews, dark, perhaps not as au courant.  (Though I’d argue that last point.)

Lisa:

Why it Could Win: The history of a family set against the history of apartheid in South Africa

Why it Might Not Win:  I simply did not find it to be particularly interesting, and I thought that the constant jumping from one character’s point of view to another was jarring.

Anita:

Why it Could Win: The author has incredible mastery of the narrative voice . . .which is uniquely omniscient.  He might deserve the nod for that alone.

Why it Might Not Win:  There’s nothing uplifting or joyful in the whole book, and to me, the characters were flat and unsympathetic.