Booker Longlist predictions

I think everyone's said that this year is a bit of a mystery; I'm not able to disagree with that. I think there are some that are givens - Garth Greenwald and Sarah Perry - but even them, with the 'wrong' judges could fall short.

I have done very badly over the last few years - I think par would be to get 5 - any more than that is a bonus. I still think the book to beat is Edna O'Brien.

What Belongs to You - Garth Greenwall

I Am Here – Jonathan Safran Foer

Beatlebone – Kevin Barry

I am Lucy Barton – Elizabeth Strout

The Essex Serpent – Sarah Perry

The Lesser Bohemians - Eimear McBride

Augusttown - Kei Miller

The Sport of Kings – CE Morgan

The Association of Small Bombs - Karan Mahajan

Infinite Ground – Martin McInnes

The North Water – Ian McGuire

The Tidal Zone – Sarah Moss

Little Red Chairs – Edna O’Brien

Another 100 word short story

HOPE

I called mother and accused her of being a liar.

'You said you took Gracie to a farm for a better life. But you put her down, didn’t you?’

Mother insisted I had it wrong. She drove me to a farm just outside Newhaven. There was Gracie. She looked deliriously happy.

‘You really expect me to believe she’s alive after all these years?’ I said.

‘Believe what you like,’ she said. ‘Now, come on, let’s have lunch.’

She turned away, and I waved goodbye to Gracie, hoping it really was her, nosing at the cloven hooves of ewes and sheep.