Monday, July 07, 2008

Re-reading the best of the Booker

From The Daily Telegraph

Have the novels on the Best of the Booker shortlist retained their freshness? James Walton finds out
Maths pedants may disagree, but this year marks the 40th anniversary of the Booker Prize, which began in 1969.
The celebrations continue on Thursday, with the announcement of the Best of the Booker: the novel that in the opinion of the public has been the greatest of all the prize's winners - although in these democratic times, anybody can vote whether they've read the books or not.

Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie has lost none of its power to astonish
Less democratically, the shortlist of six was chosen by a panel of three, and duly led to several news stories about startling omissions - from Possession to Life of Pi. Personally, though, I found myself in the pleasingly smug position of having read all but one of them.

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