Also, because I'm feeling frisky, I'll list my complete longlist options:
-Philida by André Brink. This South African novel tells the story of a slave, Philida, in 1832 who has given birth to four children by her master’s son, Francois. Rumours of slave liberation are in the air. Francois reneges on his promise to set Philida free and instead as ordered by his father must marry a white woman from a prominent family and also plans to sell Philida to new owners in the harsh north country. Because of this, Philida risks her life to lodge a formal compaint against Francois, which is allowed under law. Eventually she goes on a journey with a Muslim slave in the great wilderness. This one fit the topic of X as about muted/censored slaves and also about the taboo subject then of masters and slaves having children together.
-The Ten Loves of Mr Nishino by Hiromi Kawakami. This contemporary Japanese novel is narrated in ten different chapters by ten former lovers of Mr Nishino, and the preview was enjoyable. This fits the topic as X as the number 10.
-Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. This 18th century epistolary novel was a scandal in its day (and enjoyed by people such as Queen Marie Antoinette), and was the basis for the film Dangerous Liaisons. The X for this one is the secrecy and scandal element, as well as the singular of dangereuses in French, dangereux, having an x.
-Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin. It’s Weimar Berlin, and Franz Biberkopf, a pimp and petty thief, has just finished his prison term for murdering his girlfriend. He is determined to turn over a new leaf and make an honest man of himself, but finds it difficult and finds hiimself continually mixed up in sordid proceedings. The X here is for the seedy underbelly of society that’s often hidden and censored, as well as the x in the title (which, it’s harder to find good novels to nominate with ‘x’es in their titles than I would’ve thought!).
-King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard. Following a mysterious map of dubious reliability, a small group of men trek into Africa to search for a lost friend, and a lost treasure. This one is definitely for the x marks the spot on a treasure map!
-Zuleika Dobson: Or, an Oxford Love Story by Max Beerbohm. A humourous novel from 1911 about a woman who, after a stint as a governess and after becoming skilled at prestidigitation, comes to Oxford to visit her grandfather, a college warden, and in the process pretty much fells all of Oxford by her skills/charms. The x in this one is for a ‘mark’ as a person- both Zuleika as the mark all the men are after, as well as the opposite, the men that she charms. As well, it is because of the ‘x’es in the title and author’s name.
-From A to X: A Story in Letters by John Berger. A’ida lives in a dusty, ramshackle town and her lover Xavier has been imprisoned, possibly falsely as a political prisoner. A’ida sends resolute, sensuous and tender letters to Xavier detailing her daily life and the life of the town. The X is definitely for the glaring X in the title, which is also the first letter of the first name of one of the protagonists. Also for this one I thought of x as in xoxo ‘hugs and kisses’ that many people put on letters, and also for the possibility of Xavier being imprisoned to silence (x) him for his political views or actions.
-The Neighbourhood by Mario Vargas Llosa. This is a politically charged detective novel weaving through the underbelly of Peruvian privilege. In the 1990s two wealthy high society couples become embroiled in a disturbing vortex of erotic adventures and politically driven blackmail, and eventually there’s a murder. I love how this sounds like something I don’t know anything about (1990s Peruvian political corruption? definitely hasn’t been on my radar before). The x is for the underbelly/hidden side of high society and politics as well as for blackmail. But mostly, the x is for the cover:
-The Tenth Man by Graham Greene. Originally written for a film and then hidden in movie studio archives for years, this sparse literary book is about a small group of men held by the Germans in WWII, who determine one in every ten of them must die, and it is to be decided by lots. The protagonist, a rich lawyer, is chosen as one of the condemned, but he offers all his money to (the family of) any man who will take his place. Someone takes the offer. Later, upon his release, he must then face the consequences of his actions. This X is for the number 10, as in the tenth of the title, and the plot point it describes.
-Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. The famous ancient play, for not only having an x in its title but also for being about the major taboos (‘x’es) of patricide and marrying one’s own mother.
(in the interest of length, the rest, though also all interesting, I’ll just list the titles and authors)
-Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Xun Lu
-CoDex 1962 by Sjón
-Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
-Vernon Subutex 1 by Virginie Despentes
-Unexploded by Alison MacLeod
-Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie
-Billiards at the Hotel Dobray by Dušan Šarotar
-The Autobiography of Malcolm X
-XX by Angela Chadwick