Man Booker reaction

So we didn’t get the result we wanted but maybe we’d already achieved it. For Alison Moore, if ever there was a case of ‘it’s not the winning, it’s the taking part…’ then this is it. By Moore’s own acknowledgement, her debut novel would have been struggling to find shelf space at Waterstones without the longlist nomination. To then be shortlisted, has established Moore as a respected author. Sure, the nomination opens her debut up for criticism but that is almost incidental because from now on, she is a shortlisted author, she commands respect. I only wish the media would stop referring to Moore as a Manchester-born novelist. Who cares where she was born when she lives in Nottingham! It’s not a case of us claiming her, more that she is already ours. Cary Grant is associated with Hollywood not Bristol. Come on folks.

I wasn’t surprised to hear that Mantel (Derbyshire-born) won, but I had hoped that the judges might have been split over the two heavyweights, allowing the majority’s 2^nd favourite, perhaps Moore, to take it on the line. Self was the bookies front runner but only last year the judges were preaching the importance of readability. Had Umbrella won it would have marked a huge U-turn. Whilst there is much to admire, it’s a book that will be started by significantly more readers than finish it. With Mantel, it becomes a question of worth. By awarding Mantel the prize, the judges are lavishing huge praise on a sequel, making the author the first British writer - and the first woman – to win twice.

Moore’s writing ticks the literature box but it also has the readability factor. It will keep the masses sticking around for the ending and they won’t be disappointed when they get there. So yes, I am a little disappointed that she didn’t win. The Lighthouse had momentum, regularly being picked out by library groups as their favourite, and the author had impressed during the rounds of interviews and media demands. I suppose that, in the end, the judges had backed themselves into a corner. The problem was that whilst Wolf Hall was a popular winner, Bring Up The Bodies is a much better book.

I look forward to Moore’s next novel, which I suspect will surpass The Lighthouse, I just hope it isn’t released in the same year Mantel completes her trilogy.

The Lighthouse by Nottingham author Alison Moore