Strong, strange chosen few in line for Miles Franklin

The view of the Sydney Morning Herald.

Pic left. by Bob Pearce, also from SMH, shows left to right - Rodney Hall, Steven Carroll, Gail Jones, Alex Miller & David Brooks.

The five novels shortlisted for the 2008 Miles Franklin award are "a strong, strange clutch", all displaying "extraordinary quality and depth in their interpretations of ourselves in the world we live in today", one of the judges, Morag Fraser, said in announcing this year's contenders for Australia's most treasured and competitive literary prize.
"They also share a similar preoccupation with how we come to terms with the world around us and our past, making this award so relevant to these times in which we live," Fraser said.
The five novels on the shortlist for the $42,000 prize are The Fern Tattoo by David Brooks, The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll, Love Without Hope by Rodney Hall, Sorry by Gail Jones and Landscape Of Farewell by Alex Miller.

Read the full story in the Sydney Morning Herald here.......