The Lost Man Booker Prize Books

(from oprah.com
by Melissa Hellstern)

In 1971, a major change in how the Booker Prize was awarded eliminated an entire year's worth of publications from consideration. To make amends, the Man Booker Prize Foundation has announced the Lost Man Booker Prize to honor the great works published in 1970.

On May 19, the winner was announced—selected from a long list of 21 books and short list of six.

Here are the great reads of 1970!


The Lost Man Booker Prize Winner: Troubles by J.G. Farrell

Troubles Forty years after it was first published, Troubles, by J.G. Farrell, is the winner of the Lost Man Booker Prize. It won by a clear majority, winning 38 percent of the votes by the international reading public, more than double the votes cast for any other book on the shortlist.

Troubles is the first in Farrell's Empire Trilogy, which was followed by The Siege of Krishnapur (1973) and The Singapore Grip (1978). The Siege of Krishnapur won the Booker Prize in 1973 and was shortlisted for the Best of the Booker, a special award created to mark the 40th anniversary of the prize in 2008.

Troubles weaves the tragi-comic tale of Major Brendan Archer, who, despite the short-lived nature of his business in Ireland, is unable to leave the alluring discomforts of his crumbling hotel, The Majestic. Surrounded by gently decaying old ladies and proliferating cats, the Major passes the summer. But this is Ireland in 1919, and the struggle for independence is about to explode with brutal force.

J G Farrell died in 1979. His brother, Richard Farrell, accepted the prize on his behalf.

Learn about the other books on the Lost Man Booker Prize List.