With the unveiling of the Booker Prize longlist, the 2010 literary Prize season is officially underway. As is typically the case, the list offers a mix of exciting new names, relative unknowns and beloved standbys. The instant favorites to win for most readers will be David Mitchell, Peter Carey, and, though he is something of a newly minted literary superstar, Tom McCarthy. Several of the books named appeared on our “most anticipated” lists for the first and second halves of 2010.
All the Booker Prize longlisters are below (with excerpts where available):
- Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey (excerpt)
- Room by Emma Donoghue (excerpt)
- The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore (excerpt)
- In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut (excerpt)
- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson
- The Long Song by Andrea Levy (excerpt)
- C by Tom McCarthy
- The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (excerpt)
- February by Lisa Moore (excerpt)
- Skippy Dies by Paul Murray (excerpt)
- Trespass by Rose Tremain (excerpt [scroll down])
- The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (excerpt)
- The Stars in the Bright Sky by Alan Warner
Glad to see The Slap on the list. I’ve been hyping this novel everywhere. Hopefully this will win it the readership it deserves.
Great to see The Slap – very good.
Tom McCarthy. Well, he’s the hot media thing right now and I’ve not read C yet, but I did read Remainder and thought it was an interesting idea very very badly executed. Not sure he deserves to be in.
David Mitchell. Ignored for too long, he should have won in back in ’99 when Ghostwritten came out – his last one and this one are poor efforts compared to his other stuff. hmm..
Completely agree with Simon regarding McCarthy and Remainder.
Great to see Galgut nominated (again?). Love his work, wish it were published with greater speed here in the US. Lags almost like a translation would. Highly recommend The Good Doctor.
In time-honored fashion, I haven’t read a single book on the longlist. I guess I get to the Mitchell sooner and the Carey later and whoever wins the whole thing in due course.
I was disappointed enough by Solar not to mind its omission, but I’m almost finished The Pregnant Widow and I can’t believe there are 12 more satisfying works published this year.
I love Damon Galgut. I’m fairly certain and excerpt of this new novel ran in the Paris Review a year or so ago. The Good Doctor was very good. I think Rose Tremain is pretty great, too.
Delighted to see Alan Warner on there actually, I reckon he’s very underrated. Morvern Callar is one of my favourite books of all time.
Looks like your “unveiling” link is off by one year. Should point here: http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/stories/1427
Fixed that link. Thanks Peter.
A historical novel won last year, so that may hurt Mitchell and Carey. I expect the winner to be one of the lesser known authors. (The Mitchell and Carey are both on my to-be-read piles.)