Booker Odds and Ends

I was quite disappointed that Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie didn’t make the shortlist for the Man Booker this year. The longlist had featured only five other women beside Adichie and now the shortlist only has one (token) woman. Coverage for the prize has began in earnest in the British press. The bookies are supposedly tipping David Mitchell (Cloud Atlas) as the favorite. It was the subject of one of Mark’s recent reviews, which led to a rather animated discussion in the comments section. But Kate Summerscale over at the Telegraph thinks Alan Hollinghurst (The Line of Beauty) will beat Mitchell. The Guardian‘s John Ezard catches up with Gerard Woodward, who is said to be a longshot. Last year, Monica Ali’s Brick Lane was deemed the favorite, but DBC Pierre’s Vernon God Little ultimately won.