Booker Prize 2023: the six shortlisted books reviewed by our experts

By Ananya Jahanara Kabir, Professor of English Literature, King's College London
Alison Donnell, Professor of Modern Literatures in English, University of East Anglia
Bethany Layne, Senior Lecturer in English Literature, De Montfort University
Leighan M Renaud, Lecturer in Caribbean Literatures and Cultures, Department of English, University of Bristol
Liam Harte, Professor of Irish Literature, University of Manchester
Muireann O'Cinneide, Lecturer in English, University of Galway

From a longlist of 12, six novels have been shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. Our academics review the finalists ahead of the announcement of the winner on November 26.

Western Lane by Chetna Maroo

Chetna Maroo’s subtle novel follows a British Asian girl, Gopi, who plays squash fiercely to cope with the grief of her mother’s death.

In Western Lane, the squash court becomes an arena for playing out the conflicting emotions flowing between a grieving father and his daughters. Here other tensions also come to the fore, such as her father’s memories of…

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