Apparently any competition can induce betting. Bookies have been setting odds for the winner of the Man Booker Prize since the short-list was announced last month. The early leader and correct bet, Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, started with odds of 12 to 1, then shot to 2-1 with such support that one bookie worried about covering the bets, turns out they had cause for concern. The suspense is over and the bookies are distributing the money because Wolf Hall is the winner of the 2009 Man Booker Prize. Unfortunately, the waiting isn’t over for those of us who want to read it and several of the other short-listed nominees since several of the novels are not yet published in the United States.
Ms. Mantel had stiff competition, reviewers with access to all of the short-listed books (wish that had been me) are excited about them:
A.S. Byatt’s The Children’s Book is published in the United States today.
Summertime by J.M. Coetzee will be available on Christmas Eve (heads up to my husband, hit the bookstore on the 24th).
Adam Foulds’ The Quickening Maze was published last month, so pick it up with Byatt’s book.
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel won’t be released until October 13th, guess where I’ll be next Tuesday?
The Glass Room by Simon Mawer does not appear to have a US publishing date but is available from UK booksellers.
Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger (nominated twice before, she is in danger of becoming the Susan Lucci of the Man Booker Prize) is available.
Nominees for the prize must be a novel released in the previous year, written in English, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, or the Republic of Ireland or Zimbabwe. Publishers contribute potential nominees and are limited to two books in addition to the work of a former winner or the work of someone who was short-listed in the last five years. The prize prides itself on its judges panel–a new group chosen each year that includes a literary critic, an academic, a literary editor, a novelist and a “major figure.” I think the major figure this year was a broadcaster, I assume the equivalent of our Charlie Gibson. The short-list nominees win 2,500 pounds and Ms. Mantel takes home 50,000 pounds (that’s $79, 615 in dollar-speak) plus watches her sales shoot up worldwide (when Wolf Hall is finally published worldwide).
This prize catches my attention. While not stellar 100% of the time, I’m confident that the winners and the short-list nominees are great reads. Some of my favorite books are winners of the Man Booker Prize: Disgrace,by J.M. Coetzee; Midnight’s Children,by Salman Rushdie; The Ghost Road, by Pat Barker; The English Patient,by Michael Ondaatje; The Sea, The Sea, by Iris Murdoch. After reading Wolf Hall, I’ll see if I add it to my favorite Bookers.
Tags: Booker Award
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