The shortlist for this year’s Man Booker prize was announced today with most newspapers, including The Guardian focussing on Ian McEwan’s chances of becoming the third writer to win the prize twice. His novel On Chesil Beach has also caused ripples for its length–200 pages–which some people think disqualifies it from categorization as a novel. How long is a novel anyway?
Dovegreyreader, a self-confessed bookaholic who embarked on reading the long list time ago, was pleased to have picked Four Out of Six.
The Shortlist
Darkmans, by Nicola Barker
On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan
Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones
Animal’s People, by Indra Sinha
The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid
The Gathering, by Anne Enright
It’s an okay shortlist, perhaps let down by the inclusion of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. If I’d had my own way Peter Ho Davies’ The Welsh Girl would have been winning the whole damn thing but, as it is, my support is firmly behind Animal’s People. I’d hate for Darkmans, my current read, to win.