The longlist for the 2005 Man Booker Prize has now been announced. The novels listed are:
The Harmony Silk Factory, Tash Aw
The Sea, John Banville
Arthur & George, Julian Barnes
A Long Long Way, Sebastian Barry
Slow Man, J.M. Coetzee
In the Fold, Rachel Cusk
Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro
All For Love, Dan Jacobson
A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, Marina Lewycka
Beyond Black, Hilary Mantel
Saturday, Ian McEwan
The People's Act of Love, James Meek
Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie
The Accidental, Ali Smith
On Beauty, Zadie Smith
This Thing of Darkness, Harry Thompson
This is the Country, William Wall
I'm a bit disconcerted by the lack of Australian entries on the list. I thought Australian fiction has had a very strong year with the Drewe, Grenville, Hartnett, and McGahan as standouts. It may well be that the publishers didn't enter the books for the prize, but the
judges can call in books they feel need to be considered. The only Australian book on the list is Slow Man by Coetzee, which Ladbrokes has at 20/1. They must have seen an advance copy, as I don't think the book has even been published yet.
The favourites with Ladbrokes at this time are: Barnes 4/1, McEwan 5/1, Rushdie 7/1, Jacobson 8/1, and Mantel 8/1. You can see the full list and the odds on the "Daily Telegraph" site.
