Julian Barnes’ novel, based on a real events, traces the intersecting lives of an obscure solicitor and the world-famous creator of Sherlock Holmes.
The Man Booker Prize 2005
John Banville
A bumper year, a face-off between old rivals, and a decision settled by the chair of judges’ casting vote. After much wrangling, the tide swept John Banville’s The Sea to victory.
The shortlist saw a reprise of the 1989 match-up when Banville and Kazuo Ishiguro were both contenders. Other heavyweight nominees – Julian Barnes, Sebastian Barry, and the Smiths Ali and Zadie – added to the judges’ headache.
A win for The Sea, both stylish and thoughtful, was not universally heralded, leaving Banville to muse: ‘If they give me the bloody prize, why can’t they say nice things about me?’ The film of Ishiguro’s pipped-at-the-post Never Let Me Go went on to great success.
Winner The Booker Prize 2005
- By
- John Banville
- Published by
- Picador
A man attempts to escape a recent loss while confronting a trauma from a long lost summer, in John Banville’s haunting and evocative novel.
The Shortlist
Sebastian Barry’s powerful novel about the harsh realities of war examines the Great War from the perspective of Irish soldiers fighting for Britain.
Thought-provoking and unsettling by turns, Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel gradually unveils the true nature of three children’s apparently happy childhoods.
Ali Smith’s inventive portrayal of a family unravelled by a mysterious visitor. Who is Amber? And why has she joined the Smarts on holiday?
By Ali Smith
Male lust and female friendship draw two families together - despite the gulf that exists between them - in Zadie Smith’s engaging satire.
By Zadie Smith
A man attempts to escape a recent loss while confronting a trauma from a long lost summer, in John Banville’s haunting and evocative novel.
