The 22 authors on the Lost Man Booker Prize longlist have waited a long time to contend for the best novel published in 1970. . . .I haven't read any of the books listed, and several of them look really intriguing, so this is a bit of good news.The Guardian reported that the new award "aims to commemorate the works that 'fell through the net' in 1970 after changes to the Booker rules. In 1971, two years after the prize was first given, it ceased to be awarded retrospectively and became, as it is now, a prize for the best novel in the year of publication. The date on which the award was given was also moved from April to November, creating a gap when a wealth of 1970 fiction could not be eligible." The shortlist will be announced in March and the winner named in May. The longlist:
- The Hand Reared Boy by Brian Aldiss
- A Little of What You Fancy? by H.E. Bates
- The Birds on the Trees by Nina Bawden
- A Place in England by Melvyn Bragg
- Down All the Days by Christy Brown
- Bomber by Len Deighton
- Troubles by J.G. Farrell
- The Circle by Elaine Feinstein
- The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard
- A Clubbable Woman by Reginald Hill
- I'm the King of the Castle by Susan Hill
- A Domestic Animal by Francis King
- The Fire Dwellers by Margaret Laurence
- Out of the Shelter by David Lodge
- A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch
- Fireflies by Shiva Naipaul
- Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
- Head to Toe by Joe Orton
- Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
- A Guilty Thing Surprised by Ruth Rendell
- The Driver's Seat by Muriel Spark
- The Vivisector by Patrick White
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Random Notes: The Lost Man Booker Prize
Today's Shelf Awareness newsletter has this announcement about the "Lost Man Booker Prize":
4 comments:
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My first thought upon reading this is what other lists would look like if we waited 30 years to give awards. If you ever have looked back at the Pulitzers or Nat. Book Award winners, there are an amazing number that i say "WHAT is that?" With this "lost year" experiment they can go with only books that have stood the test of time.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. I've never heard of most of those either, but I love learning about books that I may miss otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI've read A Place in England by Melvyn Bragg - very good. I don't own it, but would like to get this again, now you've mentioned it. :)
ReplyDeleteMaster and Commander by Patrick O'Brian is now a film!
Great post.
What a great bit of book trivia!
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