SO NEAR YET SO FAR

Commiserations to Lloyd Jones and Mister Pip, well done mate, and congratulations to Anne Enright and her novel The Gathering on winning the Man Booker Prize for 2007.

The Gathering, I found it very bleak, was one of the two rank outsiders but came through to win on the night. There was a sense of disbelief at our table. In fact a gentleman from William Hill said that wearing his bookies hat he was delighted but as a reader who had read all six titles he couldn't believe it.

But that is the way of literary prizes, and as both Lloyd and I said in our interview with Maggie Barry on Radio New Zealand immediately after the announcement these things are a lottery.

It is 12.30am here in London, I'm off to bed. More tomorrow.