Rushdie tops best Booker list
2008-05-12 11:38
London - Bookmakers installed Salman
Rushdie on Monday as hot favourite to land a one-off "Best of
the Booker" award marking the 40th anniversary of one of the
literary world's most prestigious prizes.
But Rushdie, best known for his 1988 novel The Satanic
Verses which outraged many Muslims and prompted death threats
against him, faces tough competition from a shortlist of
literary heavyweights.
They range from Australian Peter Carey to South Africa's
Nobel Prize winners Nadine Gordimer and JM Coetzee.
Rushdie is bidding for a unique treble.
In 1981 his novel Midnight's Children won the Booker Prize
for Fiction.
Then in 1993 the magical-realist exploration of
Indian history was judged as the best novel to have won the
Booker in the award's first quarter of a century.
Bookmakers William Hill are taking no chances, making
Rushdie the 6-4 favourite.
Next in line at odds of 3-1 is
British author Pat Barker for The Ghost Road, her World War
One tale of a shell-shocked officer.
"Salman Rushdie is the obvious favourite as he and his book
have become the Sergeant Pepper of the literary world", said
William Hill spokesperson Graham Sharpe.
"He will be the kneejerk vote for people who have not read
the book since it was published or haven't read it at all," he
added.
JM Coetzee
Third favourite at odds of 4-1 is Peter Carey for Oscar and
Lucinda.
Next in line at 5-1 comes Coetzee for his 1999 Booker
winner Disgrace.
The two outsiders are Gordimer's The Conservationist at
8-1 and JG Farrell's The Siege of Krishnapur at 10-1.
Millions of readers around the world have the chance to pick
their favourite. Votes can be registered on
www.themanbookerprize.com or sent by text until July 8.
Biographer Victoria Glendinning, chair of the judges
choosing the shortlist, said: "We really feel the six novels we
picked represent the best fiction-writing of the past 40 years
and that each one of them will stand the test of time."
The overall winner will be announced at the London
Literature Festival on July 10.