This year I have read 9 out of the 13 Booker longlisted
titles. And I have one more on my shelf
still to read.
If I had been on the Booker judging panel I would have
fought hard to get the Alison Pick and the Sebastian Barry onto the shortlist
as I thought both were stronger novels than some that made the cut.
But out of the shortlist I’m torn between the Barnes and the
DeWitt – and it was really only the rather abrupt ending that let the Barnes
down for me. But overall The Sisters Brothers was
the best of the shortlist for me, plenty to think about, beautifully written,
challenging expectations and hopefully shaking up critics who wrote it off as a
genre novel. Surely it’s about how a
book is written rather than the predominant content than counts?
And if I were to hazard a guess at who the Booker panel will
crown winner – I’d say they might pick Pigeon English.
I can’t wait till Tuesday to find out if I’m right…
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