Man Booker 2013 Shortlist has been announced
by sernabad
The Man Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious literary prizes for more than 40 years, has released its shortlist for 2013.
The six authors on the shortlist are notably diverse. Per the requirements of the Man Book Prize, they are all citizens of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. They range in age from 28 (Eleanor Catton to 67 (Jim Crace. Catton, who splits her time between Canada and New Zealand, has written the longest book (The Luminaries -- on order -- is 540 pages). Veteran Irish author, Colm Toibin has produced the shortest -- The Testament of Mary is just 81 pages.
The Luminaries is a mystery set in New Zealand during that country's 1866 Gold Rush.
Toibin's short powerful novel imagines Mary's struggles with faith and grief in her later years, after Jesus' death.
Other contenders are NoViolet Bulawayo whose debut novel, We Need New Names, tracks the life of a 10 year old girl from Zimbabwe who moves in with her aunt in America, swapping abject poverty for shocking excess.
Jim Grace is enjoying his second appearance on the Man Booker shortlist with Harvest, a tale of the unraveling of pastoral calm in a British medieval farming community whose residents battle strangers, witchcraft and each other. His first foray into Man Booker Shortlist territory was in 1998 for Quarantine (1997).
For the complete list of shortlist contenders, check here.
The winner, who will receive the £50,000 prize, will be announced on October 15th.
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