Booker Idol

The Best of the Booker shortlist has been announced:

The Ghost Road, Pat Barker (1995)

Oscar and Lucinda, Peter Carey (1988)

Disgrace, J. M. Coetzee (1999)

The Siege of Krishnapur, J. G. Farrell (1973)

The Conservationist, Nadine Gordimer (1974)

Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie (1981)

The public/publisher marketing departments now have until 8 July to vote for their Booker winner of choice.

BoB is a flawed, cynical concept, but it's still good to see the wonderful and neglected J. G. Farrell on the shortlist. Nadine Gordimer? Not so much.