Attention book lovers on all sides of the pond! The Man Booker 2012 longlist, as selected by Dan Stevens (aka Matthew Crawley, swoon), Dinah Birch, Amanda Foreman, Bharat Tandon, and chair Sir Peter Stothard, has just been announced. There are some pretty obvious picks (we would have been shocked if Hilary Mantel’s Bring up the Bodies didn’t make the longlist), some pleasant surprises (Jeet Thayil’s awesome debut novel Narcopolis !) and enough books that haven’t made it over to the states yet that we have a lot to explore before the shortlist is announced in September.
What do you think, dear readers? Will we hear more of the same accusations of dumbing-down that we heard last year? Are you so excited by the panel’s choices that you’re going to go out and buy the whole list or do you think you’ll skip this round? Let us know who you’re rooting for in the comments, and keep an eye on the Booker Prize website for more updates.
The Yips by Nicola Barker (Fourth Estate)
The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman (Sceptre)
Philida by André Brink (Harvill Secker)
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng (Myrmidon Books)
Skios by Michael Frayn (Faber & Faber)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday)
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy (And Other Stories)
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate)
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore (Salt)
Umbrella by Will Self (Bloomsbury)
Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil (Faber & Faber)
Communion Town by Sam Thompson (Fourth Estate)