Folio Prize shortlist

       The new-fangled Folio Prize have announced their shortlist.
       Limited to English-written fiction published in the UK in the past year (hence the inclusion of originally-(self-)published(-in-the-US)-in-2008 title A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava), the eight finalists leans heavily towards the American (and the list is notable for its complete avoidance of anything ... off-color ? nothing from India (or anywhere in Asia), nothing from Africa, nothing from the Caribbean ...).
       Following in the Man Booker footsteps, the Folio folk have decided against any sort of transparency, and won't reveal what the 80 books the judges considered were (60 selected by 'Folio Academy' vote, 20 more taken from suggestions made by publishers).
       As Gaby Wood notes in her report on the shortlist in The Telegraph:

I would have thought that this method would prevent more obscure titles from being included: how can enough members vote for them if they don't know these books exist ? And how, as a result, can they rank highly enough to make the top 60 ?

       Amen to that -- and that the system 'works' would be more believable if they revealed what titles were actually among those final 80 (though admittedly the eight finalists are a pretty interesting lot).

       The only title under review at the complete review is Jane Gardam's Last Friends.