Shortlist
The shortlist for the 2011 Book Prize can be found below, along with a book club pack for each book. Book club packs contain a fuller synopsis, information about the author, discussion questions, a sample passage and suggested further reading.
Fiction
Turn of Mind
Alice LaPlante
The police are convinced that Jennifer White has killed her best friend. Amanda's body has been discovered, with four fingers neatly removed from her right hand. Jennifer's work as an accomplished surgeon and the stormy nature of their friendship make her the prime suspect. But Jennifer has Alzheimer's, and the disease that is gradually destroying her once brilliant mind prevents her from knowing if she really is the murderer.
'Turn of Mind' book club pack [PDF 121KB]
Nemesis
Philip Roth
Set in 1944 during a fictional polio epidemic that threatens children in the Jewish community of Newark, New Jersey, this book is the story of Bucky Cantor, the 23-year-old playground director of the local school. Cantor becomes a hero to the boys, but as polio begins to ravage the playground and they begin to die, he is forced to make decisions that will haunt him in later life.
'Nemesis' book club pack [PDF 122KB]
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
Louisa Young
Set on the Western Front in World War I, and also in London, Kent, Paris and Wigan, this is a novel of love, class and sex during wartime. By weaving together the stories of five disparate characters, Louisa Young describes the birth of modern reconstructive surgery and the psychological impact that it had on the men who received it.
'My Dear I Wanted to Tell You' book club pack [PDF 126KB]
State of Wonder
Ann Patchett
Among the waterways of Brazil's Rio Negro, Dr Annick Swenson is developing a drug that could alter the lives of women for ever by granting them lifelong fertility. Her work is shrouded in mystery so Anders Eckman, a mild-mannered lab researcher, is sent to investigate. Eckman's untimely death leads his colleague Marina Singh to investigate - stepping into the jungle's darkness to track down Dr Swenson and uncover her jealously guarded secrets.
'State of Wonder' book club pack [PDF 126KB]
Non-fiction
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
Siddhartha Mukherjee
The history of cancer is a story of human ingenuity, resilience and perseverance, but also of hubris and arrogance. Cancer researcher Siddhartha Mukherjee describes the work of his predecessors and peers, with their successes and failures, as they pit their wits against a resourceful enemy. This book investigates the way doctors, scientists, philosophers and lay people have observed and understood the human body and offers a glimpse into the future of medical treatments.
'The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer' book club pack [PDF 127 KB]
The Two Kinds of Decay
Sarah Manguso
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is a hugely distressing disease in which one's own immune system attacks the nerves outside of the brain and spine. Sarah Manguso developed CIDP at 21, leaving her paralysed for weeks at a time. Written after seven years of remission, this book unflinchingly describes the medical routines that kept her going, confronting the often meaningless and irrational nature of real pain.
'The Two Kinds of Decay' book club pack [PDF 120KB]