We're a month away from finding out which title will take home the 2023 Booker Prize so what better time to take a deep dive into this year's final six? This week, in the first of two parts, we're exploring half of the books. Listen in to hear what Jo and James make of them, whether virtuousness is a desirable quality in these novels and what the shortlist says about the state of fiction today.

In this episode Jo and James discuss:

• Their overview of the 2023 shortlist, and what it says about the state of fiction today
• How these books would behave if they were guests in your house
• The common themes that run through these novels
• Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You
• Paul Harding's This Other Eden
• Sarah Bernstein's Study for Obedience

Reading list:

• If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
• This Other Eden by Paul Harding
• Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

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