The ‘short lists’ for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize were announced on Wednesday making them topically ideal for the focus of this week’s RobAroundBookLists feature. But what actually is the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize I hear you cry? Well for those who don’t know here’s the official blurb:
The Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious literary awards, is presented annually by the Commonwealth Foundation with the support of the Macquarie Group Foundation. The Prize aims to reward the best Commonwealth fiction written in English, by both established and new writers, and to take their works to a global audience, thereby increasing appreciation of and building understanding between cultures.
The Prize is fully international in its character, administration and judging. The Prize covers the Commonwealth regions of Africa, the Caribbean and Canada, Europe and South Asia and South East Asia and Pacific. It is a prize that is both regional and global.
That’s the low down on what the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize actually is, but before we go through the list, there’s a couple of points to note. Firstly the lists are organised into each of the four Commonwealth ‘regions’ but within each regional list the titles are split into two further categories – “Best Book” and “Best First Book”.
The second thing to note is, because the official site has done such a basic job of doing it (I’m sure they were only being utilitarian and official 
)), I’ve taken the liberty of giving the short lists a bit more pizazz and usefulness by providing cover images for each title in the lists, together with links providing more information on each novel. Wherever possible I’ve tried to link directly to the publisher’s page for the book in the particular region that the book has been shortlisted for. In many cases you have the option of buying the book from these publisher pages but I would like to make it clear that all of these links, as with ALL links you will find on RobAroundBooks, are entirely non-affiliate.
Finally it should be noted that Regional winners for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize will be announced on the 10 March 2009, with the overall winners being announced sometime in Mid-May 2009.
AFRICA
Best Book
- The Imposter by Damon Galgut. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Penguin.
- My Life with the Duvals by Tim Keegan. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Umuzi.
- Beauty’s Gift by Sindiwe Magona. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Kwela Books.
- The Lost Colours of the Chameleon by Mandla Langa. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Picador.
- The One That Got Away by Zoe Wicomb. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Umuzi.
- Random Violence by Jassy Mackenzie. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Umuzi.
- Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Country: Nigeria. Publisher: Abacus.
- Till We Can Keep An Animal by Megan Voysey-Braig. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Jacana Media.
- Shepherds & Butchers by Chris Marnewick. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Umuzi.
- Boston Snowplough by Sue Rabie. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Human & Rousseau.
- Porcupine by Jane Bennett. Country: South Africa. Publisher: Kwela Books.
- Good to a Fault by Marina Endicott. Country: Canada. Publisher: Freehand Books.
- Blackstrap Hawco by Kenneth J. Harvey. Country: Canada. Publisher: Random House Canada.
- The Origin of the Species by Nino Ricci. Country: Canada. Publisher: Doubleday Canada.
- Pynter Bender by Jacob Ross. Country: Grenada. Publisher: Fourth Estate.
- Chef by Jaspreet Singh. Country: Canada. Publisher: Véhicule Press.
- The Great Karoo by Fred Stenson. Country: Canada. Publisher: Doubleday Canada.
- Cleavage by Theanna Bischoff. Country: Canada. Publisher: NeWest Press.
- Silver Salts by Mark Blagrave. Country: Canada. Publisher: Cormorant Books.
- Blackouts by Craig Boyco. Country: Canada. Publisher: McClelland and Stewart.
- The Sherpa by Nila Gupta. Country: Canada. Publisher: Sumach Press.
- The Withdrawal Method by Pasha Malla. Country: Canada. Publisher: House of Anansi Press.
- Reading by Lightning by Joan Thomas. Country: Canada. Publisher: Goose Lane Editions.
- The Toss of a Lemon by Padma Viswanathan. Country: Canada. Publisher: Random House Canada.
- The Other Hand by Chris Cleave. Country: UK. Publisher: Sceptre.
- The Country of Deceit by Shashi Deshpande. Country: India. Publisher: Penguin India.
- The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher. Country: UK. Publisher: Fourth Estate.
- Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. Country: UK. Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing.
- Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. Country: UK. Publisher: Harvill Secker.
- The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie. Country: UK. Publisher: Random House.
- The End Of Sleep by Rowan Somerville. Country: UK. Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
- The Consequences of Love by Sulaiman Addonia. Country: UK. Publisher: Chatto and Windus.
- Broken by Daniel Clay. Country: UK. Publisher: Harper Collins.
- Submarine by Joe Dunthorne. Country: UK. Publisher: Hamish Hamilton.
- A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif. Country: Pakistan. Publisher: Jonathan Cape.
- Breathless in Bombay by Murzban Shroff. Country: India. Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin.
- Between The Assassinations by Aravind Adiga. Country: Australia. Publisher: Atlantic Books.
- The Spare Room by Helen Garner. Country: Australia. Publisher: Text Publishing
- The Good Parents by Joan London. Country: Australia. Publisher: Random House Australia.
- Forbidden Cities by Paula Morris. Country: New Zealand. Publisher: Penguin New Zealand.
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas. Country: Australia. Publisher: Allen and Unwin.
- Breath by Tim Winton. Country: Australia. Publisher: Picador.
- The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Country: Australia. Publisher: Atlantic Books.
- The Boat by Nam Le. Country: Australia. Publisher: Hamish Hamilton.
- The Year of the Shanghai Shark by Mo Zhi Hong. Country New Zealand. Publisher: Penguin NZ.
- Misconduct by Bridget van der Zijpp. Country: New Zealand. Publisher: Victoria University Press.
- Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta Samarasan. Country: Malaysia. Publisher: Fourth Estate.
- The Shallow End by Ashley Sievwright. Country: Australia. Publisher: Clouds of Magellan.
Best First Book
CANADA AND CARIBBEAN
Best Book
Best First Book
EUROPE AND SOUTH ASIA
Best Book
Best First Book
SOUTH EAST ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
Best Book
Best First Book
So there you have it – 48 of the finest novels the Commonwealth has to offer. Unbelievably, although I’ve heard of some of these i.e. Man Booker Winner – Adiga’s The White Tiger, and Booker ‘shortlister’ Philip Hensher’s The Northern Clemency, I’ve never read any (what the chances of that? )), so I can’t pass on any infinite words of wisdom on the selection (although I did notice the almost entirely ‘clean sweep’ of South Africa in the Africa Regional shortlist). However, there’s got to be plenty of people out there who have read these, so I’d love to hear your thoughts and feelings.
About Rob
Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into another's skin, another's voice, another's soul" - 
This is a great round-up, Rob. I hadn’t realised they break this award up into regions.
I’m delighted to see Helen Garner’s The Spare Room has made the cut for South East Asia and the Pacific region because it was one of my favourite reads from last year. I’ve not read The Slap but heard lots and lots of good things about it.
As you know, Ive just finished On the Other Hand by Chris Cleave but wasn’t particularly impressed by it.
says:
Kim,
)
Great to hear from you, and thanks for the kind words
When I was compiling this post I checked out the synopsis for all of the novels, and I must admit that the one for ‘ The Spare Room’ struck me as being hugely powerful.
Warmest
Rob
I see I missed this announcement, but then on the date I was away for my birthday. I’m shocked to see The Other Hand listed in the Best Book category, especially rubbing shoulders with two Booker longlisters in Hensher and Rushdie (even if they were both reviewed negatively, for the most part). The Europe category reads, for the most part, too much like a Who’s Who of Creative Writing classes.
I’m was also surprised to see Rowan Somerville’s The End Of Sleep listed there, probably because I always thought I was the only person to heave read it and, being a first book, I would probably have placed it in the Best First Book category. But, a quick check on the site shows that it is in the Best First Book category. More power to it: I gave up on both Submarine (one of those novels where a precocious child narrator affords the author an easy ride) and A Case Of Exploding Mangoes (boring, just boring!).
It’s rather hilarious to see Aravind Adiga’s Between The Assassinations listed as Best Book, while his Booker winning The White Tiger sits in the Best First Book category, especially when the former was probably sitting in a drawer gathering dust until the Booker interest created an opportunity for it.
Sad, though, is the Africa category. You’d think South African writers were head and shoulders above other African Commonwealth nations given that list. And of that list, the only book I have is that of Uwem Akpan, the token Nigerian among a plethora of Springboks.
says:
Stewart – belated birthday wishes!
)
Thanks for your opinion on this Commonwealth list. I’m in awe of your cosmopolitan book knowledge!
I totally agree with you on the ‘South Africa’ point too. Such a shame not to see the ‘lesser’ African countires represented more fully, and indeed fairly.
Warmest
Rob
If it panders to English language originals only then the sweep of South Africa can be expected. Not all African Commonwealth countries have English as an official language.
says:
You say it as though I wouldn’t know that Stewart. I’m offended! *grins*