Man Booker Prize shortlist includes Jhumpa Lahiri, Colm Toibin
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
The novels that made the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize this year are a diverse group, taking place on multiple continents and written by authors who are new on the scene as well as those who are well-established literary talents.
The six books that made the list are 鈥淭he Testament of Mary鈥� by Colm Toibin, 鈥淎 Tale for the Time Being鈥� by Ruth Ozeki, 鈥淭he Lowland鈥� by Jhumpa Lahiri, 鈥淲e Need New Names鈥� by NoViolet Bulawayo, 鈥淭he Luminaries鈥� by Eleanor Catton, and 鈥淗arvest鈥� by Jim Crace.听
The list comes with a couple of firsts: 鈥淢ary鈥� is the shortest book ever nominated for the Man Booker at only a little over 100 pages. In addition, Bulawayo is the first black African female author to make the list for her debut novel 鈥淣ames.鈥�
Crace and Toibin have both made the shortlist of the Booker before 鈥� Toibin has made the nominations twice 鈥� but Lahiri, Bulawayo, Catton, and Ozeki are all named for the first time.
Chairman of the judging panel Robert Macfarlane said he and his fellow appraisers were searching for 鈥渘ovel novels.鈥�
鈥淲e looked for books that sought to extend the power and possibility of the form,鈥� he said in a .
The Man Booker Prize will be given out on Oct. 15 and the winner will receive a 50,000 pound (or about $80,000) award. The prize is given to a writer who hails from the UK, Ireland, or one of the countries that is part of the group known as the Commonwealth Nations (this includes Australia, Canada, and others) and whose book is written in English and not self-published.
Last year, Hilary Mantel鈥檚 novel 鈥淏ring Up the Bodies鈥� was considered the book that was in the lead when the Booker shortlist was announced, but this year may be a little harder to predict, with the saying this is an 鈥渋mpossibly tough year to call.鈥�
The literary community seems especially impressed by the six novels vying for the prize, with writer Sarah Churchwell calling the nominees 鈥減erhaps the best shortlist in a decade.鈥�
鈥淸The judges] have not settled for safe mediocrity, or the usual suspects,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚t is a marvellous list of books鈥� and it does what it is meant to do: advocate for new fiction in general, and聽these superb books in particular.鈥�
writer Gaby Wood agreed.
鈥淲hen the shortlist for the Man Booker Prize was announced at a press conference on Tuesday morning, even I was surprised by how happy it made me,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淭he choices were both brave and solid 鈥� each one exceptional yet indisputably skilled; and as a collection, as a joint way of saying 鈥榯his is what the novel can be,鈥� it was incredibly exciting.鈥�
While you wait for the winner, check out our reviews of "We Need New Names" and "A Tale for the Time Being."
