2023 Booker Longlist: Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein
Our next longlist nominee is Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein. Bernstein was born in Montreal and now lives in the Scottish Highlands, where she teaches literature and creative writing. Her first book was a collection of poems titled The Coming Bad Days. Earlier this year she was selected for Grant’s Best of Young British Novelists.
Synopsis from Booker Prize website: A woman moves from the place of her birth to a ‘remote northern country’ to be housekeeper to her brother, whose wife has just left him. Soon after she arrives, a series of unfortunate events occurs: collective bovine hysteria; the death of a ewe and her nearly-born lamb; a local dog’s phantom pregnancy; a potato blight.
She notices that the community’s suspicion about incomers in general seems to be directed particularly in her case. She feels their hostility growing, pressing at the edges of her brother’s property. Inside the house, although she tends to her brother and his home with the utmost care and attention, he too begins to fall ill…
You can purchase a copy of the book here
Three of our panelists read the novel. Keep reading to find out how our panellists rated this book.
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