Not too many surprises with this morning's announcement - though there will be tears for Colum McCann [but I did warn you!]. The six on the short list are: Jim Crace, Harvest, NoViolet Bulawayo, We need New Names, Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries, Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowlands, Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being, and our own Colm Toibin, The Testament of Mary.
The betting is not surprisingly on Jim Crace who has announced that this is his last novel. NoViolet Bulawayo has been getting a lot of publicity for her book on Zimbabwe, but knowing the Booker passion for historical novels, they might well plump for Eleanor Catton and her book set in New Zealand in the mid nineteenth century during the gold rush. I suspect Toibin is rather an outsider.
Personally, I think Jim Crace gives us the best read on the list!
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