The Man Booker Prize : 35 Years of the Best in Contemporary Fiction, 1969-2003

by Jonathan F. Taylor (Introduction), Martyn Goff (Contributor), Yann Martel (Contributor)

77 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Stephen]

A very 2000s corporate celebration of Man Booker's elopement with literature, this combines a sort of innocent cynicism with some genuinely enjoyable pick-n-mix insights into the prize. In the truest sense this is a Reader's Digest. Concentrated, miscellaneous, and with musings from recognised names alongside the suited corporates that in book form have recreated that photo of Blair's aparatchiks gurning with the Gallaghers.

The cover alone, though, merits its place on display by the various Booker shortlisted titles that I've liked enough to keep, or to seek out post-loan, to take their place on my shelves. For anyone who enjoyed this, I can recommend Booker on YouTube, whose channel features the sometimes rancourous readings TV critics Tom Paulin and Germaine Greer. I find myself shouting at them half the time. Reading Taylor's essays, I realise that this is half the sport.