The finalists for the fourth Man Booker International Prize were announced today. Irritatingly, of the thirteen finalists, only four are women. Even more irritatingly, my kneejerk reaction to that was to be pleased that so many women were nominated, so accustomed am I to only one or two gracing such lists (not the Man Booker specifically, just prizes in general).
Also irritatingly, their website doesn’t link to further information about the authors who were shortlisted. Don’t these people realize they’re on the internet? The finalists are:
- Wang Anyi (China)
- Juan Goytisolo (Spain)
- James Kelman (UK)
- John le Carré (UK) (but he withdrew)
- Amin Maalouf (Lebanon)
- David Malouf (Australia)
- Dacia Maraini (Italy)
- Rohinton Mistry (India/Canada)
- Philip Pullman (UK)
- Marilynne Robinson (USA)
- Philip Roth (USA)
- Su Tong (China)
- Anne Tyler (USA)
Wow. It’s sad that 4 is a lot >:|
I only recognize two of the names (neither are woman). Mistry, because I’ve read (and thoroughly enjoyed) two of his books (or, maybe it was just one) and Pullman because I cringed as I read his Golden Compass books (they were full of great ideas, but never quite hit the mark for me).
I know the American names too, but I hadn’t heard of the others either. That’s what’s great about the Booker, it’s truly international.