2007 Booker Longlist

[Franz Ferdinand]

The only one I have not read that does not really interest me a whole lot is Enright, and therefore my support goes behind Sinha. But will an Indian writer win the Booker two years in a row?

Verdict: Ian McEwan wins his second Booker - and for the second time, wins with a lesser work.
Upset: Lloyd Jones, though not really upsetting now that he's picking up steam.

Oh hell, way to call it. Turns out the winner is....

ANNE ENRIGHT, "THE GATHERING"

Honestly, this was my least favorite of the five I managed to read before they announced it (I only bought "Darkmans" yesterday and it should take me a month of scattered reading to finish it), though I can see the appeal of a dark, depressing, and sometimes graceful book winning. The discussion on the Booker blog from the start has been against Enright, and the popular favorite there was Sinha's novel. The judges stressed that repeat readings reveal the relevance of Enright's book, so I will hold my peace and try it a second time down the road. How will history judge "The Gathering" as a Booker winner? Who knows, but right now it's looking like an unimpressive, unpopular and daring pick by the mercurial judges.

[Franz Ferdinand]

Four for six, but disappointed by the ones left off:

Nicola Barker, "Darkmans"
Anne Enright, "The Gathering"
Moshin Hamid, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"
Lloyd Jones, "Mister Pip"
Ian McEwan, "On Chesil Beach"
Indra Sinha, "Animal's People"

Essentially, this makes the race between "Pip" and "Chesil" - the former often dismissed as shallow and borrowing gravitas from Dickens, the latter a novella-length story that would likely rate in the lesser rungs of a fabulous career. Hamid's novel was good enough, but it would have been my choice to get the axe, making way for Peter Ho Davies' "The Welsh Girl", which would have been my pick to win. Don't discount Barker, as she is a lauded and established writer, with an IMPAC Award already to her name.
The only one I have not read that does not really interest me a whole lot is Enright, and therefore my support goes behind Sinha. But will an Indian writer win the Booker two years in a row?

Verdict: Ian McEwan wins his second Booker - and for the second time, wins with a lesser work.
Upset: Lloyd Jones, though not really upsetting now that he's picking up steam.

[Okri]

I'm currently predicting Redhill, Hamid, Jones, Davies, Sinha and Barker (same as you, except Redhill replacing your prediction of Tan).

I've only read The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was pretty great. I'm reading another Bookered Barker (Pat, "Life Class") right now.

[Franz Ferdinand]

It is the eve of the shortlist being announced, and so far I have finished four and a half of the books:

Davies, "The Welsh Girl"
Hamid, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist"
McEwan, "On Chesil Beach"
Redhill, "Consolation"
halfway through Jones, "Mister Pip"

So far I would have to say my favorite is Davies, with Jones coming up strong through a powerful and entrancing narrative.
I have a premonition that the six finalists will be Barker, Hamid, Davies, Jones, Sinha and Tan - the front-runner McEwan will be left behind in favor of Barker, and three debut novels will vie for the prize. I am very excited to see the short list!

[flipp525]

* Self Help by Edward Docx (Picador)

There’s already an excellent book called “Self Help” by Lorrie Moore out there. It’s a collection of short stories written in the second person. I highly recommend it.

[Franz Ferdinand]

Excited to read these, I can fairly say I've only heard of two of the authors (Barker and McEwan), and have read only one of the thirteen ("On Chesil Beach")

The ‘Man Booker Dozen’ Announced
7 August 2007

The judges for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction announce their longlist of books in the running for the prize this year.

This longlist of 13 books, the ‘Man Booker Dozen’, was chosen from 110 entries; 92 were submitted for the prize and 18 were called in by the judges.

The longlist is:

* Darkmans by Nicola Barker (4th Estate)
* Self Help by Edward Docx (Picador)
* The Gift Of Rain by Tan Twan Eng (Myrmidon)
* The Gathering by Anne Enright (Jonathan Cape)
* The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton)
* The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies (Sceptre)
* Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones (John Murray)
* Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (Viking)
* On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (Jonathan Cape)
* What Was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn (Tindal Street)
* Consolation by Michael Redhill (William Heinemann)
* Animal’s People by Indra Sinha (Simon & Schuster)
* Winnie & Wolf by A.N.Wilson (Hutchinson)

Chair of judges, Howard Davies, comments:

“This year’s longlist is very diverse, with four first time novelists as well as some more familiar names. All the books chosen are well-crafted and will appeal to a wide readership.”

Shortlist

The 2007 shortlist will be announced on Thursday 6th September at a press conference at Man Group’s London office. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 16th October at an awards ceremony at Guildhall, London. Shortlist