Publishers Lunch
The Booker Prize will be awarded this
evening in London. Jim Crace's HARVEST has been the bettors' favorite from the
start and remains so today, albeit by a small margin. Based on historical
trends, that makes it highly likely Crace will not actually win, since except
for Hilary Mantel, the Booker "favorite" almost always loses.
Eleanor Catton's 848-page The
Luminaries is a close second in the betting, and is finally on sale in the
US today. There's some question as to how much is actually wagered on the
prize, though. The Telegraph says that "a mere £24" has been bet on
Jhumpa Lahiri's THE LOWLAND, "the lowest stakes ever placed on a Booker
contender" -- yet she has odds of 9 to 1. Perhaps it's because she's
really American rather than a vote on her book.
Another American, Canadian-born
Ruth Ozeki, is also a candidate, a year before the prize formally opens itself
to American authors.
Colm Tóibín has been shortlisted twice
before. NoViolet Bulawayo (Elizabeth Zandile Tshele) is the first black African
woman in contention, and the first finalist from Zimbabwe. The only previous
African winners are J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, and Nigerian-born Ben Okri.
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