Beyowulf On The Booker Prize

Now that Beyonce is a bonafide member of the literati collaborating with Pulitzer Prize winners, who better to guide your reading selections from the Booker Prize longlist? Using the prescient work of Beyowulf as a guide, take your pick from the pool of contenders which includes, for the first time, American authors as well as those from the British diaspora, before the shortlist is revealed on September 9.

To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, by Joshua Ferris = Irreplacable

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Paul O'Rourke, a 40-year-old dentist, discovers an online version of himself existing out of his control and worries it might be a better version of him.

From Bey: "Cause the truth of the matter is, replacing you is so easy."

The Bone Clocks, by David Mitchell = The End of Time

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: We follow teenage runaway Holly Sykes in a story that spans eras and nations, and bends reality and psychology.

From Bey: "Take you away from here

There's nothing between us but space and time."

J, by Howard Jacobson = Deja Vu

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: A variation on the star-crossed lovers narrative, because neither person knows anything about their past, how they came to be together, and "what happened, if it happened."

From Bey: "Seeing things that I know can't be

Am I dreaming?"

The Blazing World, by Siri Hustvedt = If I Were a Boy

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Harriet Burden, a female artist infuriated by a lack of recognition that she attributes to sexism in the art world, persuades three men to show her work under their names.

From Bey: "If I were a boy, I think I could understand."

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler = Crazy in Love

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Rosemary once had a sister and a brother, but as her family enacted a behavioral psychology experiment, family members, bonds and memories became...confusing.

From Bey: "Such a funny thing for me to try to explain..."

The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Richard Flanagan = 1 + 1

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: In the thick of a Japanese POW camp during the construction of the Thailand-Burma Death Railway, Dorrigo Evans is haunted by his love affair with his Uncle's younger wife two years earlier.

From Bey: "So when the world's at war

That our love will heal us all."

The Wake, by Paul Kingsnorth = Survivor

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Written in a shadow version of old English, this is the story of what happened after the infamous Battle of Hastings and the 11th century Norman invasion of England.

From Bey: "I'm a survivor, I'm gonna make it, I will survive and keep on surviving."

*Nota bene: Obviously, Beyonce was flanked by her legions, Kelly and Michelle, for this Destiny's Child hit. But so too was Kingsnorth supported by others--400 people contributed to crowdfunding the publishing of his novel through Unbound.

The Dog, by Joseph O'Neill = Upgrade U

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: After his relationship falls apart, a New York lawyer takes a job managing a massive family fortune in Dubai.

From Bey: "Partner, let me upgrade you. Audemars Piguet you."

Orfeo, by Richard Powers = Ego

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: A 70-year old avante garde composer tinkers with a DNA testing kit and finds himself on the run from Homeland Security as a bio-terrorist.

From Bey: "I'd rather you open up my body

And show me secrets you didn't know was inside."

The Lives of Others, by Neel Mukherjee = Ring the Alarm

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Supratik, a young man living in Calcutta in 1967, becomes embroiled in political and familial divisions in the household of the Ghoshes.

From Bey: "When I need answers, accusations

What you mean you gone choke?"

History of Rain, by Niall Williams = Sweet Dreams

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Bedridden and reading through her dead poet father's 3,958 books, Ruth Swain discovers the story of her family in County Clare, Ireland.

From Bey: "Clouds filled with stars cover your skies

And I hope it rains, you're the perfect lullaby."

How to be Both, by Ali Smith = Love on Top

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: Intertwining the love narratives of two women, a 1460's renaissance artist and a 1960's flower-child archetype, this story twists and swoops through themes and eras.

From Bey: "As we dance the night away, boy your lips taste like a night of champagne.

As I kiss you again and again and again and again."

US, by David Nicholls = Smash into You

The Man Booker Prize / Via themanbookerprize.com

In short: The protagonist, Douglas Petersen, fights to win back the love of his wife and son during a journey across Europe--and through the memories of who they all once were.

From Bey: "Head down, as I watch my feet take turns hitting the ground,

Eyes shut, I find myself in love racing the Earth."