I’m back!
Kind of.
I know this place has been kind of quiet this year – real life keeps getting in the way of me sitting down to write about what I’ve written – which is a shame, ’cause I’ve read some crackers this year: The Spare Room being the most memorable example.
Anyway, in an attempt to get back on the writing horse, I set myself a little goal: read the whole Booker Prize longlist and review them. Which, somehow, I have done.
Over the next day, I’m putting up all my reviews of this year’s Man Booker Prize longlist. I’ve done something a little different, though, and will leave it up to you to see what that is.
Just a few thoughts before we get started. I think the shortlist is about half right, which is symptomatic of the longlist a a whole. About half of the entries are brilliant, and about half are not.
I’m still worried about the introduction of Americans into the mix changes the identity of the prize, and since the official longlist has several Americans on it – and the fact that the favourite to win is American – I think that worry is justified, but it’s clearly not going to change back, so we have to deal with it.
I’ll put up my shortlist and winner tomorrow night, just before the official announcement, with some final thoughts.
A Novel Approach 