Well, it’s disappointing that the shortlist doesn’t include any Aussies or Kiwis (see those that were longlisted here), but FWIW here’s the shortlist (links on the titles are to my reviews):
Compass by Mathias Enard, translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell, see Tony’s review at Messenger’s Booker and More
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
Midwinter Break by Bernard MacLaverty, see the review at Brona’s Books and Nancy’s at Nancy Elin.
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor
Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Idaho by Emily Ruskovich, see Kate’s review at Books Are My Favourite and Best
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (reviewed everywhere and anyway, it won the Booker)
A Boy in Winter by Rachel Seiffert
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (reviewed everywhere, and on my TBR!)
I’m off out to the theatre now but will jazz this up when I get home.
Just one translation, that’s unusual for this prize…
ANZ LitLovers LitBlog 
10 books…and one of my favorites was not selected “Go, Went, Gone” by J. Erpenbeck. I’ll start my shortlist reading today with your tip
Resevoir 13 by J. McGregor. Hopefully I can read all the books before 29 May.
I reviewed Midwinter Break…
here is the link
LikeLike
By: N@ncy on April 4, 2019
at 6:52 pm
Can’t we claim Rachel Seiffert? I think her mother is Australian 🤔
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: kimbofo on April 4, 2019
at 7:12 pm
I’m afraid I don’t take much more than a cursory interest in this award. It’s just so huge that I find hard to make any sense of it! That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
I had read a few of the long list, but haven’t read any of the shortlist.
LikeLike
By: whisperinggums on April 4, 2019
at 10:46 pm
I pay attention when there’s Aussies in it!
But it’s an award that has limitations: the books are nominated by libraries so it’s rare that under-rated books turn up in the lists. They’re usually the books we’ve heard about anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on April 4, 2019
at 10:55 pm
Oh, and what did you see at the theatre? We’ve been to two shows in the last week or so.
LikeLike
By: whisperinggums on April 4, 2019
at 10:48 pm
A marvellous play: it was called Underground, a dramatisation of Nancy (The White Mouse) Wake telling the story of her life. We saw it at our local theatre, but there’s a description of it here at the Gasworks. http://www.gasworks.org.au/event/underground/ margot Knight was fantastic in the lead role:)
LikeLiked by 1 person
By: Lisa Hill on April 4, 2019
at 10:53 pm
Sounds great. I hadn’t heard of it.
LikeLike
By: whisperinggums on April 5, 2019
at 9:13 am
$ 50.000 prize…that’s a hefty reward for a book!
I’m reading 5 of the official shortlist and 5 books I think DESERVED to be shortlisted. Tomorrow I start Resevoir 13.
LikeLike
By: N@ncy on April 5, 2019
at 7:20 am
I think there are enough obscenely rich people in the world for there to be more of these prizes where a win means that an author can take time away from paid work to write another book. Here in Australia it took an author who beggared herself in the last years of her life to set up our most prestigious prize, and let’s face it, she would have been forgotten by now if she hadn’t. Setting up a really good prize offers immortality!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on April 5, 2019
at 9:33 am
Oh, yes, that is a shame . . . no Aussies or Kiwis. The pool is enormous, I gather.
LikeLike
By: karenlee thompson on April 5, 2019
at 8:13 am
Hi Karenlee, yes, it was this year, and they’re calling for more libraries to join so it may grown even bigger!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on April 5, 2019
at 9:34 am
I too have read five, and all were good reads. Could Jon McGregor win it a second time. I cannot get Compass from my library, but I have reserved the other four. I like the Dublin Literary Award, as I usually agree with the selections – lol.
LikeLike
By: Meg on April 5, 2019
at 9:02 am
I keep thinking that I’ve got Compass, but no, I’ve got one of his earlier novels, as recommended by Stu from Winston’s Dad, and I really should read that before I get this other one.
Yes, I agree that this is an award that goes to books I’ve liked: I guess librarians know from the feedback that they get, which books are good reading. I know I earbash my librarians about the books I read!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on April 5, 2019
at 9:39 am
I had to laugh when I read your last sentence: “Setting up a good prize offers immortality.” In Pink Mountain on Locust Island I found this quote: “…I’ don’t know why nobody wants to make art about me.
[re: ..set up a literary prize in my name}
She says that there’s no bigger sin than to think of yourself a something that lasts beyond the time you die.”
I’m still waiting for the Jeff Bezos Literary Award! He’s worth 100 billion (even after his divorce). We’ll never forget the man who gave us Amazon!
LikeLike
By: N@ncy on April 5, 2019
at 7:34 pm
Ah yes, that’s an idea!
LikeLike
By: Lisa Hill on April 5, 2019
at 8:15 pm