The shortlist for the 2005 Man Booker Prize was announced today. The prize goes to “the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the [British] Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.” The six books emerging from the 17 on the longlist are: The Sea by John Banville; Arthur & George by Julian Barnes, A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, The Accidental< by Ali Smith and On Beauty by Zadie Smith.
Summaries of each book appear here. As I’ve noted before, Ishiguro’s work is the only one I read and I found it average at best. I am sorely disappointed that Ian McEwan’s Saturday didn’t make the shortlist.
I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.
Jorge Luis Borges, Dreamtigers
interesting that you think ishiguro’s is just average. seems to be being said of several authors on the list (banville and barnes in partic). barry’s is the opposite – lauded and applauded as he is, he’s never written better