Flashlight by Susan Choi

Anna and Geoff discuss their Booker Prize winner predictions. We haven't read enough of the shortlist to know who will win, but Geoff is tipping THE LAND IN WINTER (a DNF for Anna). Our book of the week is FLASHLIGHT by Susan Choi. This is Choi's follow-up novel after winning the National Book Award for TRUST EXERCISE. It is a sweeping family saga set in America, Japan and Korea. Shortlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize, we could not say we loved this one but it got us talking. How much cat litter detail is too much? Would Tobias really have gone to Japan or would he be trekking around Nepal? Could we read a whole novel of Serk? How many unlikeable characters in a novel is too many? And we revisit 'that year' when Margaret Atwood and Bernadine Evaristo won jointly. Coming up: CREATION LAKE by Rachel Kushner. Follow us! Instagram: @abailliekaras Email: [email protected] Substack: Books On The Go Credits Artwork: Sascha Wilkosz