The Gathering

Last year I read Anne Enright's wonderful novel The Wren, The Wren (2023), and since discovering her I have been slowly working my way through her back catalogue. 

The Green Road (2015) is a novel about the Madigan family - matriarch Rosaleen, and her children Dan, Emmet, Constance and Hanna - told in two parts. 

The first half, 'Leaving', spans the years 1980 to 2005 with chapters presented from differing perspectives, focussing on each of the children. It begins with twelve-year-old Hanna describing the tension in the house when her older brother Dan announces he will enter the priesthood. Rosaleen is hysteric and disappears into her bedroom, refusing to leave. We follow Dan to New York during the early 1990s where he is part of the queer community navigating the spectre of the AIDS epidemic. We return to Ireland, where Constance is a mother with young children, disappointed by many things in her life, and worried about her health. Then we find Emmet in Mali, working as an aid worker, drifting through his life.  

In the second half, 'Coming Home', Enright changes the narrative again as the Madigan children return to Ardeevin for Christmas with their mother. Rosaleen, now a 76-year-old widow, has decided to sell the family home and move in with Constance, not that her daughter wants her to. The children are all adults with various complications - depression, fear of commitment, alcoholism, career stagnation. The siblings love each other, but don't like one another or have much in common. Tensions arise, as they so often do at family gatherings, with the children seeking to hold on to the childhood home that they were all so desperate to escape from.

I particularly enjoyed the way Enright chose to share the perspective among the family members, rather than give readers a single protagonist. It reads almost as a collection of interwoven short stories.  The story of Dan in New York is one of the most heartbreaking tales I have ever read, leaving me in tears as Enright follows men who contracted HIV/AIDS and the fear and shame so many gay men felt during that period. Enright also chose to write in first person plural - 'we' - to demonstrate the impact on a whole community. This chapter alone is enough to make me recommend this book, as I well recall those terrible early years and Enright has captured them perfectly. 

Enright is such a gifted writer, precisely crafting every sentence. She transports readers, and we laugh and cry along with the characters she created. As I have done with other Enright novels, I listened to the audiobook recording as I read along. Narrated by Caroline Lennon, the story more engrossing to hear the narrative in her Irish accent. 

The Green Road was critically acclaimed and received many award nominations, including being shortlisted for the 2016 Women's Prize and longlisted for the 2015 Booker Prize.  

My reviews of other novels by Anne Enright are available on this blog:

• The Gathering (2007)
• The Wren, The Wren (2023)

Booker Prize Longlist 2025

This week the Longlist was announced for the 2025 Booker Prize. 

A few weeks ago I released my predictions of who might make the list and I managed to correctly guess only one of the titles (marked with an asterix). Clearly I am terrible at guessing this list! Of course I had three Australian authors on my list, and sadly none made it through this year. 

So let's take a quick look at the nominees:

Claire Adam - Love Forms  (Trinidad)

In Trinidad, 1980, a sixteen year old Dawn Bishop travels to Venezuela where she gives birth to a daughter and leaves her with nuns for adoption. Later Dawn relocates to England, marries and has two sons. But all the while she wonders about her first child. Forty years later Dawn is contacted by a woman who may be this lost daughter. The judges described Love Forms as 'a rare and low-pitched achievement. It reads like a hushed conversation overheard in the next room'. Adam is a Trinidadian author who now lives in London. Her first novel Golden Child (2019) was critically acclaimed. Love Forms is her second novel.

Tash Aw - The South   (Taiwan)

Set in Malaysia in the 1990s, teenage Jay travels south to a failing farm his grandfather has left his family. He attempts to work the land or sell it. He befriends the son of the farm manager, Chuan, and together they explore illicit pastimes and their sexuality. The judges described this as 'a story about heritage, the Asian financial crisis and the relationship between one family and the land'.  The South is the first novel in a planned quartet. Tash Aw is the acclaimed author of five novels, three of which have been longlisted for the Booker. He was previously longlisted for Five Star Billionaire (2013) and The Harmony Silk Factory (2005).

Natasha Brown - Universality   (UK)

When a man on a Yorkshire farm is bludgeoned with a gold bar, a young freelance journalist, Hannah, seeks to uncover the motivations for the attack. This satirical novel is told through shifting perspectives. The judges write that Universality 'reveals the contradictions of a society shaped through entrenches systems of economic, political and media control'. Brown is best known for her first novel Assembly (2021). She has been called one of the best young British novelists. Universality is also a finalist for the Orwell Prize.

Jonathan Buckley - One Boat   (UK)

Teresa has lost her father so she goes to the place where she grieved her mother nine years earlier - a small town on the Greek coast. Here she immerses herself in the town, becoming reacquainted with people she met on her previous visits. The judges described this as a 'novel of quiet brilliance and sly humour, packed with mystery and indeterminacy'. One Boat is Buckley's thirteenth novel. He is also the author of numerous travel guides. 

Susan Choi - Flashlight   (USA)
Ten-year-old Louisa and her academic father Serk go for a walk on a beach when tragedy strikes. Serk has disappeared.  Louise and her mother Anne are left to put together what happened. The novel moves between the post-war Korean immigrant community in Japan, suburban American and North Korea. The judges said 'We admired the shifts and layers of Flashlight's narrative, which ultimately reveal a story that is intricate, surprising and profound'. Choi is an American author of six novels. She is best known Trust Exercise (2019) which won the US National Book Award for Fiction.

Kiran Desai - The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny   (India)

Sonia and Sunny are captivated by one another when the cross paths on an overnight train. Sonia wants to be a writer and has returned from America to India to see her family. Sunny is a journalist based in New York. Together they search for happiness. The judges said 'We loved the way in which no detail, large or small, seems to escape Desai’s attention, every character (in a huge cast) feels fully realised, and the writing moves with consummate fluency between an array of modes: philosophical, comic, earnest, emotional, and uncanny.' Desai's novel will not be published until September, meaning readers won't get to enjoy it during the longlist period. Desai won the Booker Prize in 2006 for her novel The Inheritance of Loss. 

Katie Kitamura - Audition   (USA)

A middle-aged actress meets a much younger man at a Manhattan restaurant. The woman is nervous and wonders what passers-by will make of the couple. Will they be seen as mother and son, age-gapped lovers, or something else? The pair have an unsettling conversation, giving way to more disquiet. The judges said ' Aside from the extraordinarily honed quality of its sentences, the remarkable thing about Audition is the way it persists in the mind after reading, like a knot that feels tantalisingly close to coming free.' Kitamura is an American author of five novels. She is best known for the criticially acclaimed Intimacies (2021).

Ben Markovits - The Rest of Our Lives   (USA)

Tom Layward resolved to end his marriage as soon as his children have grown and left home. When his youngest turned 18 and he is driving her to college, he remembers his resolution and decides to keep driving. This one-man road trip is a journey of self-discovery and reflection - meeting old friends, encountering strangers, and deciding what to do about his work and long-term marriage. The judges write 'It’s matter of fact, effortlessly warm, and it uses the smallest parts of human behaviour to uphold bigger themes, like mortality, sickness, and love.' American author Ben Markovits has written twelve novels.

Andrew Miller - The Land in Winter   (UK)

Set in England's West Country, in December 1962, a local doctor sets out on his rounds. A violent blizzard traps two couples in their homes. The judges write 'As a winter storm wreaks havoc on their lives, these characters become pivotal figures in a community precariously balanced between history and future: between the damage wrought by the war and the freedom for women that lies ahead. In beautifully atmospheric prose, Andrew Miller brings suspense and mystery to this seemingly inconsequential chapter in British history.' Miller is based in Somerset UK and is the author of ten novels. His novel Oxygen was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2001.

Maria Reva - Endling   (Canada)

In Ukraine in 2022 three women are travelling together in a mobile lab made from a converted camper van. Yeva is a scientist trying to breed rare snails. She funds her research working for a company that runs romance tours. Through the company, Yeva meets sisters Nastia and Solmiya. Posing as a mail order bride and her translator they plan to kidnap foreign bachelors to draw attention to the patriarchy of the bridal industry. The judges praised Reva's debut novel saying Endling 'examines colonialism, old and neo, the role of women, identity, power and powerlessness, and the very nature of fiction-writing.' Author Reva was born in Ukraine and grew up in Canada. 

*David Szalay - Flesh   (Canada)

The story follows Istvan's life from his lonely teenage years to his isolated middle age. Along the way he  has an affair with a much older woman, serves in the military, moves from Hungary to London, and struggles with events outside his control. The judges praised Szalay's writing, saying 'using only the sparest of prose, this hypnotically tense and compelling book becomes an astonishingly moving portrait of a man’s life.' Flesh is Szalay's fifth novel. He was previously shortlisted for the Booker in 2016 for All That Man Is. This was the only longlisted book I correctly predicted.

Benjamin Wood - Seascraper   (UK)

Thomas lives a quiet life in Longferry, working as a shanker, scraping the Irish shore for shrimp. Mornings are spent at the waterfront with his horse and cart, and afternoons he sells his wares. When an American arrives in town, Thomas questions his days of monotonous drudgery and wonders if there can be a different future.  The judges said 'It’s a book about dreams, an exploration of class and family, a celebration of the power and the glory of music, a challenge to the limits of literary realism, and – stunningly – a love story.' Wood is the author of five novels, including The Bellweather Revivals.

Ledia Xhoga - Misinterpretation   (Albania)

In New York City an Albanian interpreter works with Alfred, a torture survivor, during his therapy sessions. The interpreter cannot help but become entangled in her client's trauma, which stirs up memories of her own. This leads to a series of questionable decisions. Concerned about her mental health, she takes an unplanned trip to Albania to visit her mother. She must then return to face the consequences of her actions. The judges said 'Misinterpretation subtly blurs the distinction between help and harm. We found it propulsive, unsettling, and strangely human.' This is Albanian author Xhoga's debut novel.

The Booker Prize Longlist is often a mixed bag of novels, but what I love about the Longlist is that it introduces me to many authors and books I do not know. Last year's Longlist was fantastic and I enjoyed reading a number of the titles.  

This year, I don't feel the same urgency to read these novels. While I have no doubt they are wonderfully written, they don't excite me in the same way previous linguists have. Of all the titles, the ones I am interested in are those by Adam,  Brown, and Markovits. 

The Shortlist will be announced on 23 September 2025 and the winner on 10 November 2025. Better get reading!