Women have dominated the Booker Prize long list taking out seven of the 13 slots. In an eclectic selection said by the judges to be the most diverse ever there was only a smattering of well-known authors. There was a fair international spread with four British authors, three Irish and representatives from Malaysia, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, India and Canada. The full long list is:
Tash Aw, The Five Star Millionaire: a story of five Malaysian Chinese immigrants in Shanghai.
NoViolet Bulawayo, We Need New Names: about life in a Zimbabwe shanty town called Paradise.
Eleanor Catton, The Luminaries: A young woman stands trial for murder in 1866 during the New Zealand Gold Rush.
Jim Crace, The Harvest: In what Crace says will be his last book, a village comes under threat.
Eve Harris, The Marrying of Chani Kaufman: Debut novel about a teenage girl preparing for her arranged marriage into an ultra-orthodoz family in London.
Richard House, The Kills: Massive (literally at more than 900 pages) thriller split into four books which was originally published as an e-book with additional on-line content.
Jhumpa Lahiri, The Lowland: Set in India and America, chronicles the relationship between two brothers and the impact on their lives when one is drawn into a subversive political movement.
Alison Macleod, Unexploded: Novel set amongst the fear and uncertainty of England during the Second World War.
Colum McCann, Transatlantic: Subtle weaving together of disparate stories linked across history by journes between Great Britain and the USA.
Charlotte Mendelson, Almost English: A 16-year-old girl struggles through school weighed down by the expectations of her emotionally frail moter and three Hungarian relatives.
Ruth Ozeki, A Tale for the Time Being: a chance find on a remote Canadian beach entwines the lvies of a Japanese-American woman and a young schoolgirl in Tokyo.
Donal Ryan, The Spinning Heart: Debut novel, a story of murder, betrayal and kidnap seen through the viewpoint of 21 villagers in contemporary Ireland.
Colm Toibin, The Testament of Mary: A re-imagining of the life of Mary, mother of Christ.
Unfortunately for those who like to make their own decision about which books should make it onto the short list quite a few of the novels have yet to be released, including The Luminaries, The Lowland, Unexploded and Almost English, with some not due until after the shortlist is announced in September.
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