Booker longlist is out:
Aravind Adiga The White Tiger
Gaynor Arnold Girl in a Blue Dress
Sebastian Barry The Secret Scripture
John Berger From A to X
Michelle de Kretser The Lost Dog
Amitav Ghosh Sea of Poppies
Linda Grant The Clothes on Their Backs
Mohammed Hanif A Case of Exploding Mangoes
Philip Hensher The Northern Clemency
Joseph O'Neill Netherland
Salman Rushdie The Enchantress of Florence
Tom Rob Smith Child 44
Steve Toltz A Fraction of the Whole
I have to admit, I'm not overly excited by this list. I've only heard of three of them, and haven't read any. The fact that Salman Rushdie is on it does not fill me with great happiness either.
I was so fired up to go out and buy the entire list and get reading at once, but now I feel as though someone's thrown a bucket of cold water over me.
In fact, I feel rather rebellious. I feel like making my own longlist - Oxford-Reader stylee. I can just about hear everyone choke on their coffee at this impudent suggestion .... Watch this space.
2 comments:
These Booker people seem to immediately put anything by Rushdie or McEwan or, regardless. I wonder if they even bother reading them first...
Interesting theory .... they probably took one look at the size of Rushdie's and went 'ack! It's bound to be good - on it goes!' There's so many other books that didn't make the list that other bloggers have raved about, and have been totally ignored!
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