The Booker Prize

This years Booker Prize is announced tomorrow, disquieting the camps amongst bookmakers across Britain - this year has seen unprecedented speculation about the winner, with bookies recording more than double the amount of bets placed in comparison to last year. Ladbrokes said they were waiting in trepidation; if one of the front-runners does take the prize, they're looking at a six figure payout. Ian McEwan's wonderful On Chesil Beach is favorite to take the 50,000 pound reward, whilst Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip has gone from being a ranked outsider to a firm second-place in the odds. I've only managed to read one of the shortlisted books this year, Ian McEwan resonating comment on love, and a masterpiece in characterisation, yet I feel quite optimistic my ignorance will pay off when he walks away with the award tomorrow for the second time (McEwan also won in 2002 for his post-9/11 novel, Saturday) - compounding his position at the forefront of contemporary British literature.