2020 International Booker Prize

Apologies for the long delay in setting up this thread. From the Booker Prize web site:

"Today, 27 February, the judges of the 2020 International Booker Prize reveal the ‘International Booker Dozen’, the 13 novels longlisted for the prestigious award celebrating the finest translated fiction from around the world.

"The prize is awarded every year for a single book that is translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. It aims to encourage more publishing and reading of quality fiction from all over the world and to promote the work of translators. Both novels and short-story collections are eligible. The contribution of both author and translator is given equal recognition, with the £50,000 prize split between them. Each shortlisted author and translator will receive £1,000, bringing the total value of the prize to £62,000."

"This year the judges considered 124 books."

The full 2020 International Booker Prize longlist is:

Red Dog by Willem Anker (Afrikaans – South Africa), translated by Michiel Heyns

The Enlightenment of The Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar (Farsi – Iran), with an anonymous translator

The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (Spanish – Argentina), translated by Iona Macintyre and Fiona Mackintosh

The Other Name: Septology I–II by Jon Fosse (Norwegian – Norway), translated by Damion Searls

The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischvili (German – Georgia), translated by Charlotte Collins and Ruth Martin

Serotonin by Michel Houellebecq (French – France), translated by Shaun Whiteside

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (German – Germany), translated by Ross Benjamin

Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (Spanish – Mexico), translated by Sophie Hughes

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese – Japan), translated by Stephen Snyder

Faces on the Tip of My Tongue by Emmanuelle Pagano (French – France), translated by Sophie Lewis and Jennifer Higgins

Little Eyes by Samanta Schweblin (Spanish – Argentina), translated by Megan McDowell

The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (Dutch – Netherlands), translated by Michele Hutchison

Mac and His Problem by Enrique Vila-Matas (Spanish – Spain), translated by Margaret Jull Costa and Sophie Hughes

On 2 April the shortlist for this year's International Book Prize was revealed:

Tyll by Daniel Kehlmann (German – Germany), translated by Ross Benjamin
The Enlightenment of The Greengage Tree by Shokoofeh Azar (Farsi – Iran), with an anonymous translator
The Adventures of China Iron by Gabriela Cabezón Cámara (Spanish – Argentina), translated by Iona Macintyre and Fiona Mackintosh
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (Spanish – México), translated by Sophie Hughes
The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (Japanese – Japan), translated by Stephen Snyder
The Discomfort of Evening by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (Dutch – Netherlands), translated by Michele Hutchison

On 17 April the following announcement was made:

"The winner announcement for the 2020 International Booker Prize, due to take place on 19 May, will be postponed until later in the summer to ensure that readers are able to get hold of copies of the shortlisted books. The online announcement of the shortlist had unprecedented reach and engagement, but access to the books at present is problematic. In discussions with the Booker Prize Foundation, publishers have stressed how severely book distribution is disrupted due to COVID-19, so steps are being taken to ensure that the authors, translators, publishers and book trade are best supported at this difficult time.

"The Booker Prize Foundation is keeping the situation under review, and will communicate a new announcement date as soon as possible. Plans will also be unveiled to re-promote the shortlist in the lead-up to the winner announcement.

"Gaby Wood, Literary Director of the Booker Prize Foundation, says,

"‘After careful consideration, we’ve decided on this course of action to ensure that the shortlist, and ultimately the winner, can be celebrated at a time when readership of these exceptional novels is made easier for everyone. As the world begins to recover, their contents will be found all the more rewarding for being, in effect, a form of travel.’'

As of yesterday I have all six shortlisted books, and I've just started reading Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor. I'm off from work for the next 19 days, and my goal will be to read the entire shortlist in that time. Some LTers have already read some of the shortlisted books, so I'll create threads for discussion of each of them. Anyone who has read the other longlisted books should feel free to set up similar threads here.