2026 Booker Prize Longlist: The Shadow of the Object

by jenp27 on September 14, 2026

Next up for panel is The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis. Four members of our panel read this nominee and here are our reviews…

Chloe Aridjis is a Mexican-American writer whose novels tend to live in that space between the everyday and the surreal. Born in New York and raised in Mexico City, she has also spent significant time in Berlin and London, and that sense of moving between places and cultures often finds its way into her work. She’s the author of Book of Clouds, Asunder, and Sea Monsters, which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. Her writing is known for being atmospheric, dreamlike, and a little unsettling, with recurring interests in art, memory, perception, and the oddness hiding just beneath ordinary life—all of which makes The Shadow of the Object feel very much at home in her body of work.

Book Synopsis from Booker website: Flora is visiting home in Mexico when the family dog leaps up and bites her hand. She finds herself in hospital where she undergoes several surgeries and meets Wilhelmina, an elderly German woman with pneumonia, who collects pre-cinema toys and instruments. The two of them embark on a series of dream-like conversations in the hospital corridors. Wilhelmina puts on a magic lantern show for Flora, leaving her spellbound.

When things take an unexpected turn, Flora finds herself entrusted with an important mission. She returns to London, where she resumes her job polishing silver at a jewellery shop, and strikes up a strange friendship with Wilhelmina’s son, Max. As Flora dips in and out of her imagination, she is increasingly aware it’s not only the magic lantern that projects, and her perception of reality is subtly altered.

Jen’s Thoughts: I finished this book with little idea of what I wanted to write for a review, so I set it aside for a few days. When I returned to it, I realized I had mostly forgotten what I’d read—which probably says something about my overall experience with the book.

I thought the writing was beautiful, though I’ve found that to be true of most of the books on this year’s longlist. But outside of the writing, The Shadow of the Object just didn’t leave much of an impression on me. It’s another atmospheric, unconventional, and very light-on-plot novel—the type of book the judges seem to love this year. I did enjoy the idea of the magic lantern and some of the imagery surrounding it, but overall I felt rather lukewarm about the book. Beautifully written, certainly, but ultimately not one that will stick with me.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 13/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: I liked the first part of this book- Wilhelmina was fascinating, and I would have loved more about her. If the story had been set only in the hospital, it would have been fine with me. Her son, however, was a milquetoast, and our main character went from Jekyll to Hyde. The descriptions and writing quality were lovely, there wasn’t really much of a plot. But in the end, I was rooting the most for the mouse. All in all, it was decent, but not stellar.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 3.5/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 1/2
Total: 12.5/20

Nicole’s Thoughts: This book never stood a chance, and was totally on brand for this longlist. I don’t think I can properly rate it because I’m so tired of the repetition of themes. There was some originality for sure and the writing was fine. I just didn’t care about it AT ALL. If this makes the shortlist I’ll be shocked.

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 2/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 0/2
Total: 12/20

Anita’s Thoughts: If you love description, this book is for you. The sentences are perfectly wrought. But reading is a lot more than gorgeous sentences, and I don’t care if a book is full of them if it doesn’t have characters that make me feel something. This book was very flat, and honestly, I find excessive description boring. I have aphantasia so it’s probably less compelling to me than for most readers (as a caveat).

Writing quality: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 1/4
Plot development: 1/4
Overall enjoyment: 0/2
Total: 9/20

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