The always anticipated Booker shortlist was announced on September 6. The six contenders are:

The Sense of an Ending — Julian Barnes (third time on the shortlist)
Jamrach’s Menagerie — Carol Birch (longlisted in 2003)
The Sisters Brothers — Patrick deWitt
Half Blood Blues— Esi Edugyan
Pigeon English (debut novel) — Stephen Kelman
Snowdrops (debut novel) — A. D. Miller

I have Kelman on my bookshelf, and I’ll be dipping into it soon, between work reads. I’ve also heard good things about the Barnes.

Have you read any of the shortlisted books? If so, what did you think of it? Please share your thoughts, or — if you dare — predict which one will win! The prize will be awarded on October 18.

I have managed to get through two of these, and they both have a shot in my mind.

Pigeon English is an endearing book and that grew on me once I stopped comparing it to other books (Curious Incident, The Other Hand, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tsotsi). The book is held together by the personality of the narrator, Harri. At once incredibly naive (he believes nearly anything he is told by his more world-wise classmates) and yet aware of a world in which teenagers can be basketball players one day, and stabbed the next. It's a world where he depends on the strong women in his life, but yet is constantly surrounded by rampant, juvenile, misogyny. He loves running, his new Diadora shoes, his mother and his baby sister Agnes (who is still in Ghana), his binoculars, his Pigeon friend, Poppy Morgan, and the word "paradiddle" (look it up!). The narrative draws you in while Harri describes a world where he has to side-step threatening thugs and solve a bloody crime, using his unique blend of Ghanaian slang ("Asweh" and "advise yourself" were my favorites, and I plan to use them in daily chatter from now on), London slang ("chook" and "donkey hours") and teenage babble.

There were times when the narrative got lost, and quite a few instances where I felt Kelman was unsure of what age (or naivete level) his protagonist was. As a result, the first half of the novel felt forced at times, and Harri's narrative did not always ring true in my mind. Too often I felt I was hearing the middle-class English version of an 11-year old African immigrant.

Sense of an Ending is very different. I managed to read this in one standing at the book store. Which tells you both about how short it is, and how engrossing. How accurate are our memories? Do we remember the truly significant events? Can we anticipate what implications all our actions may have?