Pearl: Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023

Pearl follows Marianne from the age of eight, when her mother goes missing. She is left with her baby brother and grieving father in a ramshackle house on the edge of a small village, holding on to broken memories of her mother’s love: the smell of fresh herbs, the games they shared, and the songs and stories of her childhood.

As time passes, Marianne finds it difficult to adjust. Fixated on the disappearance, she becomes convinced her father is keeping secrets. After discovering a medieval poem called Pearl and trusting in its promise of consolation, she begins creating a visual illustration of it, returning to the work repeatedly yet never managing to complete it. Haunted by an unmarked gravestone in an abandoned chapel and the tidal pull of the river, her home starts to crumble as the past draws her towards self-destruction, raising questions about whether art can heal and whether her own future as a mother might bring peace.

Key details

• Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2023
• Centres on Marianne after her mother goes missing when she is eight
• References a medieval poem titled Pearl
• Includes an ongoing attempt to create a visual illustration of the poem

Synopsis

Marianne’s mother disappears when Marianne is eight, leaving her with her baby brother and father in a fragile home on the edge of a village. Unable to move on, she clings to memories and becomes consumed by what she believes her father is hiding.

When she finds the medieval poem Pearl, she turns to art, repeatedly attempting to illustrate it without finishing. An abandoned chapel, an unmarked grave, and the pull of the river deepen her torment as the past drives her towards self-destruction, while she searches for consolation and the possibility of peace.