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McEwan defends 'short novel'
09/10/2007 13:53 - (SA)
New York - British author Ian McEwan defended himself against criticism that his book, On Chesil Beach is too slim to have been short-listed for the Man Booker Prize.
At just over 200 pages, the book's action unfolds over one evening as a newlywed couple embark on their honeymoon.
"You allow yourself the possibility of writing in real time," McEwan told an audience at the New Yorker Festival on Saturday. "It could never be a long novel."
He brushed off discussion in the British press as to whether On Chesil Beach was a novel or novella and whether it should have been entered for the prize awarded to a British Commonwealth author. "That's their problem, not mine, I think," he said.
McEwan has won the Booker once before, for Amsterdam in 1998, and he is the favourite to win again this year.
'Best, eligible full-length novel'
But he told the festival audience: "I still feel I haven't written the novel that I really want to write."
The rules for the Man Booker say the prize of £50 000 will be awarded to the "author of the best, eligible full-length novel in the opinion of the judges."
The winner will be announced October 16 at a ceremony in London.
The three-day New Yorker Festival, organised by the magazine, brought together a wide range of artists and included more than 50 live events throughout New York City.
- AP
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South Africa
