Howard Jacobson has been awarded for the 2010 Man Booker Prize for his novel The Finkler Question.
The general view was that C by Tom McCarthy was the lead-in favourite. But it's rare for favourites to get up in a "race" of this sort.
Jacobson has published 11 novels since 1983, which seems like a fairly leisurely rate. He has often been spoken of as one of those British novelists on the fringes of the literary establishment, more known for his comic rather than literary values. I've always thought of him as being a latter-day version of David Lodge, though with Lodge at 75 and Jacobson at 68 there isn't the generational difference that I would have thought. In any event, comic novels normally don't win big awards in the UK, so this was a bit of a shock.
Most of the pre-prize coverage in Australia looked to Peter Carey winning his third prize, after winning in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda and in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang. Actually, looking at those two wins you'd have to think that Carey was a shoe-in for 2014. Which, given his normal publishing schedule, would mean it will go to his novel after next, whatever that may be.
As you might expect there has been a lot of coverage of the prize:
"The Guardian" - with video
"The Telegraph" - tie off, shirt unbuttoned, looks like a big night ahead
"The Australian" - looking very serious
"The Age" - let me guess, this photo wasn't taken in London a few days back? Fair enough, much better this than a "tired and emotional" mise en scene.
The general view was that C by Tom McCarthy was the lead-in favourite. But it's rare for favourites to get up in a "race" of this sort.
Jacobson has published 11 novels since 1983, which seems like a fairly leisurely rate. He has often been spoken of as one of those British novelists on the fringes of the literary establishment, more known for his comic rather than literary values. I've always thought of him as being a latter-day version of David Lodge, though with Lodge at 75 and Jacobson at 68 there isn't the generational difference that I would have thought. In any event, comic novels normally don't win big awards in the UK, so this was a bit of a shock.
Most of the pre-prize coverage in Australia looked to Peter Carey winning his third prize, after winning in 1988 for Oscar and Lucinda and in 2001 for True History of the Kelly Gang. Actually, looking at those two wins you'd have to think that Carey was a shoe-in for 2014. Which, given his normal publishing schedule, would mean it will go to his novel after next, whatever that may be.
As you might expect there has been a lot of coverage of the prize:
"The Guardian" - with video
"The Telegraph" - tie off, shirt unbuttoned, looks like a big night ahead
"The Australian" - looking very serious
"The Age" - let me guess, this photo wasn't taken in London a few days back? Fair enough, much better this than a "tired and emotional" mise en scene.
