Interruption

Nicholas Murray calls it "the war against serious writing" while Lee Rourke sees "a sanitised agenda that force-feeds an eager public the dross we see masquerading as literature these days". Yes, it's Man Booker Prize shortlist time!

Both writers are staggered by judge Louise Doughty's banalities excusing the deeply conservative selection. Her notion of what constitutes "literary skill" further lubricates the Prize's slide into Thumping Good Read territory. There are enough book prizes already rewarding such books. As the most prominant literary prize in the UK, the Booker should draw attention to works that interrupt mere craftsmanship as they seek more than "a good plot" and "finely tuned sentences". Though not a novel (and thereby ineligible), Lee Rourke's own Everyday is an admirable example of a writer going in the opposite direction to the Man Booker.