Delighted to see David Mitchell back in the Booker Prize hunt

[MalignD at aol.com]

<< I've never had much luck with Amis, McEwan, etc. In fact my favourite
 current Brit author is Jonathan Coe, particularly 'What A Carve Up' >>

What a Carve Up is very good.  McEwan has had a leap in quality, in my 
opinion, with Atonement and Saturday.  Both very good, but not the sort of novels 
that people on this list think of as great.  And in these instances probably 
correctly.

But the Brits seem in this century generally let go of the idea of the great 
novel, meaning big and all-encompassing, like DIckens and Fielding and 
Thackerary and Richardson.  Instead Waugh and Amis, K. and M., and everyone else I 
can think of.  Even Anthony Powell's massive Dance to The Music of Time is, in 
fact, twelve normal-size novels.