Headed by former MI5 chief Stella Remington, the panel of judges for this year’s Man Booker prize announced that the main criteria for selection was that of “readability” rather than the reputation of the writers on the longlist.
Her statement is seen as a direct response to the criticism levelled at the panel on the naming of the shortlist of six authors.
Gone is critics’ favourite and former winner, Alan Hollinghurst and The Stranger’s Child. Gone is twice nominated literary heavyweight Sebastian Barry and On Canaan’s Side. Gone is the early bookmakers' favourite D J Taylor and Derby Day.
Instead, the list is made up of four British and two Canadians, including three-time nominee Julian Barnes and two debut novelists, Stephen Kelman and A D Miller.
“We want people to buy these books and read them, not buy them and admire them..." stated Remington on the announcement, an undoubted retort to those surprised by the exclusion of Hollinghurst and Barry.
Bookies’ Favourite – Julian Barnes
The critics may have called foul about what is, by many, seen as a dumbing down of the prestigious literary award, but the bookmakers immediately made Julian Barnes favourite for his The Sense of An Ending.
Nominated on three previous occasions, Barnes is one of the most prolific British writers since his debut novel Metroland was published in 1980. A former literary editor and reviewer for the New Statesman and New Review magazines, Barnes has published 11 novels and seven collections of short stories and non-fiction. Under the pseudonym Dan Kavanagh, he also published four crime fiction novels in the 1980s.
The Sense of An Ending, his first since the Booker shortlisted Arthur & George in 2005 and the death of his wife in 2008, is described by Justine Jordan in The Guardian as a novella which is “a meditation on ageing, memory and regret".
Debut Movelists Make the Shortlist
With the emphasis on readability, the inclusion of two novels by first-time writers is the perfect fillip for wannabe authors.
Set on the crime-ridden public housing estate of Peckham in south London, Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English was the subject of a publishers' bidding war after it had lain dormant on a shelf for more than two years. A D Miller is a former Moscow correspondent for The Economist and his Snowdrops, joint second favourite with the bookmakers, is set in the new Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Canadian Authors on the Shortlist
Two Canadians made the shortlist – Esi Edugyan and Patrick deWitt.
Reviews of Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, the story of a young mixed-race jazz musician in Nazi Germany, have been, in some instances, less than kind. Simultaneously shortlisted for the Booker and longlisted for the Canadian Scotiabank Giller Prize, Edugyan’s follow-up to her 2004 debut The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, has yet to be released in her native Canada.
The rank outsider and surprise inclusion is Patrick deWitt's The Sisters Brothers, a riotous story set in gold-rush California, is the first western included in the long history of the Booker Prize.
The sixth and final name on the list is Carol Birch and Jamrach’s Menagerie. Longlisted for this year’s Orange Prize, her 11th novel marks the first time Birch has made the Man Booker shortlist. An earlier novel, Turn Again Home, was longlisted in 2003. She was installed, along with A D Miller, as joint second favourite to win the award.
The announcement of the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize will be made in London on October 18.
Man Booker Prize shortlist
- Julian Barnes, The Sense of An Ending (Jonathan Cape)
- Carol Birch, Jamrach's Menagerie (Canongate)
- Patrick deWitt, The Sisters Brothers (Granta)
- Esi Edugyan, Half Blood Blues (Serpent's Tail)
- Stephen Kelman, Pigeon English (Bloomsbury)
- AD Miller, Snowdrops (Atlantic Books)
Sources:
- The Man Booker Prize website
- Mark Brown, 'Man Booker prize shortlist includes first western and novel by careworker' The Guardian
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
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