2007 Man Booker Prize Shortlist Predictions

This year's judges presented quite an interesting longlist. Despite the TurboBookSnob's initial reservations, she fell in love with several books on this longlist, books she had not considered for her longlist predictions. This demonstrates the true power of the Booker - to showcase books that would not ordinarily garner such attention.

The predictions below represent the six books the TurboBookSnob feels should comprise the 2007 shortlist. She believes that, because of his stature in the literary world, there is a chance that Ian McEwan will make the cut for On Chesil Beach, however she does not believe that this novel is among the six best novels this year, and is therefore not included in her predictions below.

In reading the longlist this year, the TurboBookSnob looked for beautiful and surprising language, as well as rich and deeply textured novels. The predictions below encompass these characteristics, and result in a list that includes:

3 male and 3 female authors
1 author previously longlisted for the Booker Prize
3 first-time novelists

This year, the TurboBookSnob was captivated by The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng, and was unable to put it down, hypnotized by the beauty of the writing and the engrossing story contained within the book. She felt that she was in the presence of something special and infinitely magical. The TurboBookSnob is firmly behind The Gift of Rain this year, and believes it should be the winner of the 2007 Man Booker Prize!

The official Booker Prize Shortlist willl be announced on Thursday September 6th, 2007, at a press conference at the Man Group office.

2007 Shortlist Predictions
	Title/Author	TurboBookSnob's Review
	Darkmans by Nicola Barker Publisher: Fourth Estate	Nicola Barker is recognized as one of today's most inventive and original writers, and Darkmans has been hailed as another work of great imagination. Although this book is the longest of the bunch this year, at over 800 pages, and is a hefty, time-consuming read that requires one's undivided attention, the TurboBookSnob believes the creativity contained within it is vast enough to merit Nicola Barker a spot on the 2007 shortlist. TurboBookSnob Review Coming Soon!
Publisher's Comments: "If History is just a sick joke which keeps on repeating itself, then who exactly might be telling it and why?..... Darkmans is a very modern book, set in Ashford (a ridiculously modern town), about two very old-fashioned subjects: love and jealousy. It's also a book about invasion, obsession, displacement and possession, about comedy, art, prescription drugs, and chiropody. And the main character? The past, which creeps up on the present and whispers something quite dark - quite unspeakable - into its ear." Nicola Barker was longlisted in 2004 for Clear: A Transparent Novel.

	The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng Publisher: Myrmidon	The Gift of Rain is one of those magical and compelling novels that comes along so rarely in life. It seamlessly combines the history of Japan's occupation of Malaya during World War II with aikido and Buddhism, as well as the simpler story of a young boy caught between races and countries, struggling to find his identity and to hold on to true friendships. It does so with language that is achingly beautiful and is evocative of the gentle mists of the rain in the book's title. TurboBookSnob Review Coming Soon!
Publisher's Comments: "Penang, 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton is a loner. Half English, half Chinese and feeling neither, he discovers a sense of belonging in an unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip shows his new friend around his adored island of Penang, and in return Endo trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. The enigmatic Endo is bound by disciplines of his own and when the Japanese invade Malaya, threatening to destroy Philip's family and everything he loves, he realises that his trusted sensei - to whom he owes absolute loyalty - has been harbouring a devastating secret. Philip must risk everything in an attempt to save those he has placed in mortal danger and discover who and what he really is." The Gift of Rain is Tan Twan Eng's first novel.

	The Gathering by Anne Enright Publisher: Jonathan Cape	This tale of a clan of nine Irish siblings gathering for the wake of their brother Liam has been praised by just about every newspaper that exists. It has been hailed as a fresh twist on the traditional Irish novel. Although the story in Anne Enright's tale may not be original, Enright's language certainly is, and deserves the comparisons to the writing of Ali Smith and Patrick McCabe. TurboBookSnob Review Coming Soon!
Publisher's Comments: "The nine surviving children of the Hegarty clan gather in Dublin for the wake of their wayward brother Liam. It wasn't the drink that killed him - although that certainly helped - it was what happened to him as a boy in his grandmother's house, in the winter of 1968. His sister, Veronica was there then, as she is now: keeping the dead man company, just for another little while. The "Gathering" is a family epic, condensed and clarified through the remarkable lens of Anne Enright's unblinking eye. It is also a sexual history: tracing the line of hurt and redemption through three generations - starting with the grandmother, Ada Merriman - showing how memories warp and family secrets fester. This is a novel about love and disappointment, about thwarted lust and limitless desire, and how our fate is written in the body, not in the stars. The "Gathering" sends fresh blood through the Irish literary tradition, combining the lyricism of the old with the shock of the new. As in all Anne Enright's work, fiction and non-fiction, this is a book of daring, wit and insight: her distinctive intelligence twisting the world a fraction, and giving it back to us in a new and unforgettable light." This is the first time that Anne Enright has been nominated for the Booker Prize.

	The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies Publisher: Sceptre	The Welsh Girl has racked up praise from revered authors such as David Mitchell, Claire Messud, and Lionel Shriver. It is set during World War II in Wales, when the lives of three very different people converge - a German Jewish refugee sent to interrogate Rudolf Hess, a young and impressionable Welsh barmaid, and a German POW. It is through these people and their experiences that Davies' explores the pull and strain of nationality and loyalty. TurboBookSnob Review
Publisher's Comments: "In 1944, a German Jewish refugee is sent to Wales to interview Rudolf Hess; in Snowdonia, a seventeen-year-old girl, the daughter of a fiercely nationalistic shepherd, dreams of the bright lights of an English city; and in a nearby POW camp, a German soldier struggles to reconcile his surrender with his sense of honour. As their lives intersect, all three will come to question where they belong and where their loyalties lie. Peter Ho Davies's thought-provoking and profoundly moving first novel traces a perilous wartime romance as it explores the bonds of love and duty that hold us to family, country, and ultimately our fellow man. Vividly rooted in history and landscape, The Welsh Girl reminds us anew of the pervasive presence of the past, and the startling intimacy of the foreign." This is Peter Ho Davies' first novel, although he was named as one of Granta's Best Young British Novelists in 2003, on the strength of the short stories that he has published.

	Gifted by Nikita Lalwani Publisher: Viking	Gifted is another novel that seems to have garnered praise from all of the major newspapers and publications, and has been endorsed by Booker Shortlisted author Gerard Woodward. TurboBookSnob Review Coming Soon!
Publisher's Comments: "Numbers have filled Rumi Vasi's world since she first learned to count. But it was on a trip to India at the age of 8 that her mathematical powers acquired their almost supernatural significance. When she returned home to Cardiff her destiny was sealed: she was now, and would forever be, the town's 'maths prodigy'. At 14 Rumi is firmly set on the path of a gifted child, speeding headlong towards Oxford University. As her father sees it, discipline is everything if the family has any hope of making its mark on its adoptive country. However, as Rumi gets older and the family's stark isolation intensifies, numbers start to lose their magic for the young teenager: she abandons the rigid timetable of her afternoons to seek out friendship and replaces equations with rampant spice abuse. As her longing for love and her parents' will to succeed deepen so too does the rift between generations." This is Nikita Lalwani's first novel.

	Animal's People by Indra Sinha Publisher: Simon & Schuster	This story of an American chemical company's disastrous effect on a slum in Khaufpur is told through the eyes of the memorable character of Animal, who walks on all fours as a result of the "accident." Animal has his own special way of telling his story, and convinces a journalist researching the disaster to tell it verbatim through tapes that Animal records for him. The character of Animal is heartbreaking, infuriating, and ultimately unforgettable. TurboBookSnob Review Coming Soon!
Publisher's Comments: "'I used to be human once. So I'm told. I don't remember it myself, but people who knew me when I was small say I walked on two feet just like a human being...' Ever since he can remember, Animal has gone on all fours, the catastrophic result of what happened on That Night when, thanks to an American chemical company, the Apocalypse visited his slum. Now not quite twenty, he leads a hand-to-mouth existence with his dog Jara and a crazy old nun called Ma Franci, and spends his nights fantasizing about Nisha, the daughter of a local musician, and wondering what it must be like to get laid. When a young American doctor, Elli Barber, comes to town to open a free clinic for the still suffering townsfolk - only to find herself struggling to convince them that she isn't there to do the dirty work of the 'Kampani' - Animal plunges into a web of intrigues, scams and plots with the unabashed aim of turning events to his own advantage..." This is the first time that Indra Sinha has been nominated for the Booker Prize.