The shortlist for the 2009 Man Booker Prize has just been announced -- and an impressive, mostly uncontroversial list it is, too. Besides the big names (Coetzee, Byatt, Waters) is Simon Mawer, who has been nominated for his novel The Glass Room. Here is the list in full, with links to NS reviews where available (our review of Coetzee's Summertime will appear in the next issue of the magazine):

A S Byatt, The Children's Book -- review by George Walden

J M Coetzee, Summertime

Adam Foulds, The Quickening Maze -- review by Fatema Ahmed

Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall -- review by Rachel Aspden

Simon Mawer, The Glass Room

Sarah Waters, The Little Stranger -- review-essay by John O'Connell

When the longlist was announced in July, I tipped Coetzee for the prize -- a prediction I'm happy to stand by.