2009 Man Booker Shortlist

I commented earlier on the 2009 Man Booker longlist, in particular my drooling irritation that most titles were unavailable in the United States.

The shortlist was announced September 8 and, to fuel even more drooling irritation, there are two with no current US publisher information (still):
A S Byatt The Children's Book (Random House, Chatto and Windus)
J M Coetzee Summertime (Random House, Harvill Secker)
Adam Foulds The Quickening Maze (Random House, Jonathan Cape) - no US date
Hilary Mantel Wolf Hall (HarperCollins, Fourth Estate)
Simon Mawer The Glass Room (Little, Brown) - no US date
Sarah Waters The Little Stranger (Little, Brown, Virago) - out since April 2009

States-side we also have to wait for the publication of The Children's Book (October 6, 2009, conveniently enough the day the Man Booker is announced), Summertime (December 24, 2009), and Wolf Hall (October 13, 2009). So...I can read one out of six...*le sigh*

I know these aren't "our" authors in the US but it's kind of silly that something considered worth reading in a language I already speak isn't available until after the announcement of the award winner. At least I could get The White Tiger (2008) and The Gathering (2007) right away if I so wished; what's up with this year?

I could keep whining ad nauseum but I'll spare everyone and shut-up now.

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