I have just finished and thoroughly enjoyed Wolf Hall and 'listened to' Brooklyn via 'Book at Bedtime' on Radio 4 which now has the Wm Trevor running in that late-night spot, so the BBC must have had hopes for both of them.
From the various comments on The Little Stranger from RP readers I am surprised it got so far. Doesn't seem the usual Booker fare.

I'm surprised but happy The Little Stranger is here. In my very humble and relatively uninformed opinion it is nothing like most of the winners of this coveted prize.

I've had Wolf Hall on my TBR list for some time, it's time to finally get to it.

Always a bit disconcerting to look for the Booker Shortlist and discover the books won't be released in the U.S. for months yet - oh well, there's nothing for it but to wait.

siobhan, you can order Wolf Hall through the book supplier 'The Book Depository' (based at an old warehouse at Gloucester Docks near us). They now have a US website (see below) and shipping/postage is FREE!
I just checked in and noticed that the hardback edition is about half-price.
Click on the list at the left to find out how to pay etc.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wolf Hall

I just read a review of A.S. Byatt's The Children's Book in Bookmarks Magazine and have added it to my wish list. I loved Possession (though I admit to skimming a lot of the poetry) and this definitely sounds like something I'd like. I'm looking forward to hearing more about the other books on the list.

I've raved about Wolf Hall - my favourite book this year - but I haven't read any of the others.

I am an admirer of Coetzee, so will definitely look for his newest.

Hmmmm.

If I'm going to finish all the six books before the prize is awarded on the 8th October (I think), I'm going to have to get my proverbial in gear. I've got them all as first editions now (though the price of The Glass Room stung a bit!)

The Little Stranger has its own thread, so I don't need to comment on it here. I wouldn't expect it to win. Wolf Hall has also been discussed - suffice to say that the bookies have stopped taking bets on it, as they will lose a LOT of money if it wins!

I'm only half-way through The Children's Book, but, my goodness, it's good. I'm really impressed by it - it's a book that will definitely warrant a re-read.

Martin, does it seem to you that this year's crop on the shortlist is better than those of the past few years? I ask because I've heard more favorable buzz than usual, it seems to me, about several of the nominees. I have read only The Little Stranger, which I liked quite well, but Wolf Hall and The Children's Book sound even more intriguing and I intend to read them.

I had just about given up on the Booker Prize -- I think it was Vernon God Little and The Gathering that nearly did me in. But maybe this shortlist and the winner will be more to my liking.

Though it's difficult to be sure (having only read two and a half of them) I think it's the best short list since 2005 - which was an exceptional year. (I didn't agree with the winner, though!)

I agree that Vernon God Little and The Gathering are two of the poorer winners of the prize. The first in particular is a dreadful book in my opinion. Mind, I remember watching a TV program on the evening of the prize award (when VGL won), and they had four people on to discuss the six books - it was obvious that all those four also thought it was the best. It was the last one discussed of the six, and there was an obvious "buzz" around all of them as they started to discuss it - it clearly appealed to all of them too.

So perhaps it's just you and me...

Or...maybe it's them...

I am surprised by the short list - pleasantly so. They all look like books I would like to read, or have actually read, or have already read a book by the author. Maybe RP has just upgraded my reading, hey!

OK - I've just finished The Glass Room by Simon Mawer. That is an excellent book, with a lovely ending. I'll definitely be re-reading this one, too.

Four out of four so far which I've thoroughly enjoyed. That's the best rate I've had for several years. It's a peach of a Booker this year.

Well damn. I should have known it couldn't last.

The Quickening Maze by Adam Fould is a book about a poet (John Clare) and his stay in a lunatic asylum. It's a book I would not have started to read if I didn't feel I had to. And I've got about a third of the way through and abandoned it. I couldn't give a monkey's about any of the characters, and it's not written in a way that attracts me at all.

So, I'll put it aside, and I'll start the Coetzee after all.

Now watch The Quickening Maze win....

John Crace has read and summarized the Booker Prize Short List in his own inimitable way....

Wicked, but quite funny. Bear in mind there are spoilers here!

Here is a link that might be useful: Digested Booker short list

And the winner is Wolf Hall.

Well, it's been well reviewed on here too.

I feel a discussion coming on.

btw - I'm two-thirds of the way through Summertime by Coetzee - it's marvellous. Five out of six I liked - that's almost unheard of.

What a terrific year for the Booker.

Just finished Simon Mawer's "The Glass Room." I agree with Martin that it is excellent. I, too, liked the ending. It awakened an interest in the history of the Czech Republic, as well. I wonder if Mawer's other works are as good?

Woodnymph,
I read The Gospel of Judas by Simon Mawer, but I didn't like it. A gospel supposedly written by Judas Iscariot is found, and it change Christianity forever... but it takes the author over 100 pages to get to there, among other things that went wrong with this book.

Mary, I really liked The Glass Room too. I bought it on Martin's review and was happy to have it.