Booker Shortlist Announced

The six finalists for the Man Booker Prize for fiction have been announced. They are:

• The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga
• The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry
• Sea of Poppies, by Amitav Ghosh
• The Clothes on Their Backs, by Linda Grant
• The Northern Clemency, by Philip Hensher
• A Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz

Obviously, there were a couple of surprises, namely the omission of The Enchantress of Florence and Netherland. I'm happy I have a horse in this race, as I'm pulling for Aravind Adiga's dazzling, wildly entertaining The White Tiger. Thoughts on the shortlist, anyone?