A psychological crime thriller set in the Scottish Highlands and the tale of a disturbed young woman in 1960s Massachusetts are on the shortlist for the prestigious Man Booker prize which was unveiled on Tuesday.
Nobel-winner J.M. Coetzee failed to make the six-name list for the world's leading English-language fiction award, which featured only one previous nominee, South African-born British author Deborah Levy.
Her Hot Milk is a story of an intense relationship between a sickly mother and her daughter set in a small Spanish fishing village which the jury said in a statement examines "female rage and sexuality".
Here is the final shortlist:
Author | About the Book | Other works |
Deborah Levy | Hot Milk- A story of an intense relationship between a sickly mother and her daughter set in a small Spanish fishing village | Beautiful Mutants, Swallowing Geography, Billy and Girl, Swimming Home |
Graeme Macrae Burnet | His Bloody Project - A story of poverty in the tiny crofting community of Culduie in the Scottish Highlands | The Disappearance of Adèle Bedeau |
Ottessa Moshfegh | Eileen - A story of "an unassuming yet disturbed young woman" trapped between caring for her alcoholic father in a squalid house and her job as a secretary at a boys' prison. | Short stories - Medicine, Disgust, Malibu, etc., |
David Szalay | All That Man Is - a portrait of masculinity | London and the South-East, Innocent, Spring |
Madeleine Thien | Do Not Say We Have Nothing - A story on classical music in revolutionary China | The Chinese Violin, Certainty, Dogs at the Perimeter |
Paul Beatty | The Sellout - A satire on US urban life | The White Boy Shuffle, Tuff |
"The final six reflect the centrality of the novel in modern culture -- in its ability to champion the unconventional, to explore the unfamiliar, and to tackle difficult subjects," jury chair Amanda Foreman, a historian, said in a statement.
"As a group we were excited by the willingness of so many authors to take risks with language and form," she said.
The Foyles bookshop chain said in a statement that the shortlist was "excitingly wide-open, with Deborah Levy the only well-known author left".
The winner will be announced in London on October 25.
