And then there were six...

The Man Booker shortlist of six was announced today at a press conference at Man Group plc in London. Following the meeting, Howard Davies, Chair of Judges commented: “Selecting a shortlist this year from what was widely seen as an exciting longlist was a tough challenge. We hope the choices we have made after passionate and careful consideration, will attract wide interest.” Isn't that what they said last year, and the year before that? Ah, well. The novels are (drumroll please!):

Darkmans by Nicola Barker
"Ambitious, linguistically driven, high-octane epic with a metaphysical aspect set around a group of modern-day misfits in Ashford, Kent."

The Gathering by Anne Enright
"The story of the 12-strong Hegarty family, narrated by 39-year-old Veronica as she mourns the suicide of one of her siblings and tries to reconstruct the life of her grandmother."

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
"A young Muslim man's loves and losses, daubed against the tumultuous backdrop of the political unrest that followed the attacks on the World Trade Centre on 9/11."

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones
"2007 Commonwealth prize-winner set in a village on the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville during a brutal civil war there in the 1990s and narrated by a 13-year-old girl who has a love of Dickens instilled in her by an inspired teacher."

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan"Novella about the agonisingly awkward wedding night of a young, innocent, couple in the 60s and how it sets the course of their lives."

Animal’s People by Indra Sinha
"Dark and harrowing but also very humane portrait of a community in contemporary India whose lives were ruined 20 years ago by an American chemical company, and what happens when a young American doctor arrives in their midst."