As of this moment, the OLBG betting website shows these odds:
Prophet Song (Paul Lynch) 5/2 Odds 28.6% Probability
This Other Eden (Paul Harding) 3/1 Odds 25.0% Probability
The Bee Sting (Paul Murray) 7/2 Odds 22.2% Probability
If I Survive You (Jonathan Escoffery) 5/1 Odds 16.7% Probability
Study for Obedience (Sarah Bernstein) 11/2 Odds 15.4% Probability
Western Lane (Chetna Maroo) 13/2 Odds 13.3% Probability
Looks like a two-tiered race according to the oddsmakers - and that it's pretty likely that someone named "Paul" is going to be considerably richer come Monday morning.
(It is worth noting that Prophet Song will not even be published in this country until December 12. I haven't checked to see who the publisher is, but have to say that they really dropped the ball on this one.)
Ha! Prophet Song did drop the ball. I still say it'll likely be The Bee Sting! But I've been wrong on the other awards so who knows. I might have just jinxed it. I look forward to Western Lane and have finished Study for Obedience and This Other Eden. I probably wont get to the Bee Sting ... hmm. It looks epic length. A family on the brink.
ReplyDeleteThe Bee Sting is a big time investment for sure. I'm glad that I read it, but that meant that I only got to seven or eight of the books before the announcement. I'll probably keep going through the list after Sunday anyway, though. Prophet Song is intriguing to me. Still can't believe it hasn't been published here yet. That means my library probably won't have copies available until sometime in mid-January.
DeleteThree Pauls in the top running. I wonder who will win, it is of course an honor to be on the list.
ReplyDeleteI found it kind of funny to notice three "Pauls" at the top of the odds list this way. :-)
DeleteI have read most of the stories in If I Survive You, and liked them. So I'm rooting for this one!~
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a worthy winner, Harvee. I really liked the characters and the prose. The only story I had a problem with was the one written entirely in Jamaican dialect. That dialect is much easier for me by ear than by reading it.
DeleteWhat a weird thing to bet on! ;D
ReplyDeleteFrom what I gather, people with severe gambling addiction will bet on just about anything. It's the thrill they seek, not the potential payoff.
DeleteYou are certainly right that the US publisher of Prophet Song dropped the ball. It is Grove Atlantic, a smaller publisher, doubtless desperately trying to reach their printers on a holiday weekend in an effort to move up the ship date. It does sound interesting if you decided to continue your project but, overall, I don't feel accessibility is very important to the judges, which is their privilege, of course. It used to be my book group nearly always read the Booker winner.
ReplyDeleteAnd wouldn't you know it, that's the winner. I suppose they will still get the expanded sales numbers from library purchases, but I can't imagine they will be ahead in the long run by being this slow to publish. I can't even get on a hold list yet at my library system, so I wonder how long they waited to order copies.
DeleteWhy did your book group stop reading the Booker winner? I imagine that would be a challenge for most book club's that already have a problem getting everyone to agree on which book to read because some of the winners have been a little more densely packed than the average literary novel.
Well, one of the Pauls did win. It's just too bad Prophet Song isn't available here yet....
ReplyDeleteI can't remember that happening before, but maybe I just missed it. His publisher owes him big time now.
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