The Hindu : Mistry in, Zadie out of the Booker race

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Sep 26, 2002

International

International

Mistry in, Zadie out of the Booker race

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON. SEPT. 25. Contrary to expectations, Rohinton Mistry's "Family Matters'', a deeply touching but slow-moving story about a dysfunctional Parsi family, has made it to the shortlist of this year's Booker Prize, but surprisingly Zadie Smith's latest novel "The Autograph Man'' is out of the race despite the hype and fairly encouraging reviews.

This is the third time that Mr. Mistry, who lives in Canada, has been shortlisted prompting the predictable poser: would he be "third time lucky'' and go on to win the revamped £20,000 Prize; or would the history repeat itself?

Besides Mr. Zadie Smith, who has missed the Booker shortlist for the second consecutive year, other surprise omissions include Anita Brookner, William Boyd and Michael Frayn all of whom had figured in the longlist published last month. In fact, barring Mr. Mistry and Ms. Carol Shields none of the other shortlisted novelists are internationally well known.

Ms. Shields, a strong contender for the final big win, has been shortlisted for "Unless'', which explores the emotional trauma of a couple over their non-conformist daughter.

The novel is pitted against William Trevor's "The Story of Lucy Gault''; Yann Martel's "Life of Pi'', dripping with magic realism; Tim Winton's "Dirt Music''; and Sarah Waters' "Fingersmith''.

This year's shortlist is the outcome of the Booker judges' new "mantra'' according to which "funny'' and readable books are to be given precedence over "pretentious, portentous and pompous'' ones. But the judges denied that this had anything to do with Zadie Smith's exclusion. It was not that Mr. Smith had failed, but that "others have triumphed'', the chairperson of the jury Lisa Jardine said even as she made clear where her own preferences lay: no gravitas, please; let's simply have a good read.

Yet, Martel's "Life of Pi'', according to one critic, is precisely the kind of book that has given the Booker Prize its reputation for rewarding "pretension'' over readability.

"It is just a bizarre book. It's all technique and there is just no proper story,'' former Booker judge Jon Sutherland said. Publishers have been urged to send more popular titles in future, as the Prize enters what Ms Jardine described as a "new era'' under its new sponsors — the Man Group of financial companies.

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