They've announced the shortlist for the 2012 Man Booker Prize; only one of the titles is under review at the complete review (the only one of the titles I've seen, too ...), The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng.
(Pet peeve note: the first sentence of the press release reads:
(Pet peeve note: the first sentence of the press release reads:
Deborah Levy, Hilary Mantel, Alison Moore, Will Self, Tan Twan Eng and Jeet Thayil are the six shortlisted authors in contention for the Man Booker Prize 2012, it is announced today, Tuesday 11 September 2012.My understanding is that the Man Booker is a book prize, so I'm puzzled that a shortlist announcement should begin by listing "the six shortlisted authors" (rather than, say, the six shortlisted books ...). Yes, the books eventually get mentioned, but, as far too often, personality seems to trump substance. Who cares who wrote what ? it's what whoever wrote that counts; focus on that, folks !)