Man Booker Shortlist Prediction

I must come clean immediately and point out that I have not read all of the Booker Longlist. I managed six, which is exactly half of the longlist. I have two (Narcopolis and The Garden of Evening Mists) left over which I will read and review soonish. So my predictions are based on my own reading and that of people whose opinions I set some store by. They should be read as much as a list of what I would like to see shortlisted as of what I think will be. It undoubtedly suffers from my not having read everything. (The full Longlist is here).

Predictions/Wishlist

• The Yips by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)
• Philida by André Brink (Harvill Secker)
• Swimming Home by Deborah Levy (And Other Stories)
• Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate)
• The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (Salt)
• Umbrella by Will Self (Bloomsbury)

Booker Longlist thoughts

EDIT: So, my maths is pretty awful as well. I got three right.

Well, I got that pretty wrong then. Of the thirteen novels I predicted, I managed to score hits on only two; and those were, I thought, pretty solid bets, so I can’t take much credit for that. Small/independent publishers are well represented, although three novels for Fourth Estate is pretty big for them. There is some SF (The Teleportation Accident) and a lot of humour. Overall, pretty interesting and pretty unexpected: no Banville, Zadie Smith, Hensher, Carey, P. Barker, or McEwan. There is also no Hawthorn and Child which I think is pretty disappointing and the main let-down of the list. I’m thinking about trying to read them before the shortlisting, but I’m not sure yet. I’ve got a lot on!

The longlist

The Yips by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)

The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman (Sceptre)

Philida by André Brink (Harvill Secker)

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Myrmidon Books)

Skios by Michael Frayn (Faber & Faber)

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday)

Swimming Home by Deborah Levy (And Other Stories)

Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate)

The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (Salt)

Umbrella by Will Self (Bloomsbury)

Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil (Faber & Faber)

Communion Town by Sam Thompson (Fourth Estate)