The Booker Prize Podcast

The Booker at the Oscars: Schindler's Ark vs Schindler's List

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It's Oscars season so we're off to the movies. Welcome to the first in a new mini-series where we explore Booker Prize novels whose silver screen adaptations went on to experience Oscar glory. We're starting with Schindler's Ark, the Booker Prize 1982 winner, which also happens to be the first Booker-winning novel to become a film that won a Best Picture Oscar. Listen in as we dive into the book and its film counterpart.


In this episode Jo and James:

  • Share a brief biography of Thomas Keneally
  • Revisit the origin story of Schindler's Ark
  • Consider whether “non-fiction novels” are really novels
  • Summarise the plot of the book, and discuss their thoughts on it
  • Explore the character of Oskar Schindler
  • Delve into Steven Spielberg's adaptation, Schindler's List, and the differences between book and film


    • Reading list:

    • Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally
    • The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
    • Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard
    • Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner
    • Erasure by Percival Everett
    • The Trees by Percival Everett
    • The Place at Whitton by Thomas Keneally
    • The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally
    • Gossip from the Forest by Thomas Keneally
    • Confederates by Thomas Keneally
    • An Ice-Cream War by William Boyd
    • The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally


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

      Take a look at all of the TV and film adaptations of Booker Prize novels here.

      And to watch the full interview with Thomas Keneally, head to our YouTube channel here.

      Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.

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