This morning the judges announced the 2014 Man Booker shorlist:
–To Rise Again at a Decent Hour, by Joshua Ferris
–The Narrow Road to the Deep North, by Richard Flanagan
–We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, by Karen Joy Fowler
–J, by Howard Jacobson
–The Lives of Others, by Neel Mukherjee
–How To Be Both, by Ali Smith
Over at the forum, members and judges are not aligned. Of our final rankings before the longlist came out (here), 5 of the bottom 6 made it to this shortlist :-) .
Even Dame Stella would’ve had Siri Hustvedt and David Mitchell on there. I’m glad you saw this before you went into theater, Trevor – you may’ve assumed you were still under the old anaesthetic had you seen it after. It’s a crazy list. I can’t see how Orfeo, The Blazing World and The Bone Clocks can possibly ALL miss out. An absolute disaster.
The only one of the longlist I’ve bought so far, The Wake, isn’t on there. To be fair I didn’t think it would be, but still, it really is an uninspiring list for all I’m sure some (many) of those are excellent books.
We are all completely beside ourselves! The lives of others — how to be both!
(Well, it makes sense to me.)
David Mitchell must look at some of the books on the shortlist, know, however modest he is, that his book is superior in every single way and have a right old chuckle. It’s kind of embarrassing that people around the world (a dwindling few perhaps) will see those six books and wonder “Is this the best old Blighty can manage?” It’s probably enough to convince a few wavering Scots to jump ship Thursday. (I’m joking but still.) Watch the Canadians out us to shame very shortly, once again…