The longlist for the Man Booker Prize has been announced:

Five Star Billionaire Tash Aw
We Need New Names NoViolet Bulawayo
The Luminaries Eleanor Catton
Harvest Jim Crace
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman Eve Harris
The Kills Richard House
The Lowland Jhumpa Lahiri
Unexploded Alison MacLeod
TransAtlantic Colum McCann
Almost English Charlotte Mendelson
A Tale for the Time Being Ruth Ozeki
The Spinning Heart Donal Ryan
The Testament of Mary Colm Tóibín

Before you go looking for them, bear in mind that some of these books haven't yet been released in the States, most notably Jhumpa Lahiri's long-awaited new novel. which is due on September 24th, and which I am dying to read. The mission statement for the Man Booker is simple and grandiose at the same time: The website claims that the prize "promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year." I don't believe in something as broad as a "best book" of anything, much less an entire year, but the Man Booker's long list does provide a good shopping/library loan list for those looking for quality literary fiction.