Author: Jon Fosse

Translator: Damion Searls

Original Language: Norwegian 

The third and final volume of the Septologien series, A New Name continues with the 'slow prose' style, which includes minute details to create a better experience of understanding protagonist Asle, an ageing painter and widower living alone on the southwest coast of Norway, as he meets his doppelgänger, a fellow painter in nearby village, Bjørgvin. A meditation on loneliness and being alone, Fosse's hypnotic prose in this book is immersive and poses existential questions about the human condition that will stay with you long after you turn over the last page. 

See also: Malaysian Author Karina Robles Bahrin's Epigram Prize-Winning Novel Explores Race, Religion and Identity in Southeast Asia

Author: Meiko Kawakami

Translator: Samuel Bett and David Boyd

Original Language: Japanese

It is rare to see novels featuring a teenager as its main protagonist in the line-up for any literary awards, let alone the International Booker Prize. Often relegated to the disregarded category of YA fiction instead of potential books that update perceptions and push the boundaries of contemporary literature, it is a refreshing change to see Kawakami's Heaven, narrated by 14-year-old student bullied for his lazy eye, on the shortlist. Written in a style that portrays intense, almost uncomfortable, realism, this is a hard-hitting novel that tackles adolescence, power dynamics, violence and cruelty as part of a larger ongoing debate in the real world without losing the heart of the story, which is the friendship between the protagonist and his friend, Kojimo. 

See also: How to Deal With Bullying at School

Author: Claudia Piñeiro

Translator: Frances Riddle

Original Language: Spanish

The basic premise of Elena Knows is a murder mystery in which a sickly mother must uncover the truth behind her daughter's death. However, it is so much more than that. A prominent activist fighting for the pro-choice movement in Argentina, Piñeiro uses the plot—Elena's advancing Parkinson's disease—as a vehicle to explore difficult subjects surrounding bodily autonomy and disability rights, especially in the context of a religious and ableist society. 

See also: Co-founder of PCOS I Love You Ili Sulaiman on the Importance of Taking Control of Your Body

Author: Geetanjali Shree

Translator: Daisy Rockwell

Original Language: Hindi

A strong contender for the International Booker Prize, Rockwell manages to navigate the nuances of multiple dialects and languages, from Hindi to Urdu, while capturing the playful tone that Shree portrays her protagonist, an 80-year-old widower who decides to rebel against convention by striking up a friendship with a hijra (trans) woman and traveling back to Pakistan, where she had lived during the Partition in the 1950s. 

Adding another dimension to the story is her relationship with her daughter, Beti, through which the story comes to life with meaningful evaluation of womanhood, motherhood and feminism, and a cross-generational look at the lasting human impact of British Indian rule. 

See also: Catherine Menon Revisits the Legacy of Japanese Colonial Rule in Her First Novel, Fragile Monsters

Author: Olga Tokarczuk

Translator: Jennifer Croft

Original Language: Polish

The winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature and Man Booker International Prize presented yet another monumental work set in mid-18th century. At nearly 1,000 pages, Tokarczuk deploys a rich narrative about a real historical figure: Jacob Frank.

Through the eyes of his contemporaries, we follow the young Polish-Jew as he traverses a continent rife with great unrest with his disciples during the age of the Hapsburg and Ottoman empires, leaving confusion and controversy at every turn as a mysterious, messianic religious leader. 

NOW READ

Brigitte Rozario's Advice to Young Aspiring Writers

Throwback: Damon Galgut Wins 2021 Booker Prize With 'The Promise'

Ganesh Bala and Ushera's New Book Explores The Rich Musical History of Pre-Independence Malaysia