CECELIA AHERN'S PS I Love Youand John Banville's The Seaare probably not side by side on many bookshelves, but both novels feature on an eclectic shortlist of contenders for the Irish Book of the Decade gong.
The shortlist touches on all points in between Banville's Booker-winning meditation of art and mortality and Ahern's wildly popular chick-lit debut, to include John McGahern's Memoir, Diarmaid Ferriter's Judging Dev, Keane, by Roy Keane, John Boyne's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamasand Should Have Got Off at Sydney Paradeby the laureate of the noughties, Ross O'Carroll-Kelly.
The prize is sponsored by Bord Gáis Energy and will be decided by a public online vote at bookofthedecade.ie. The winner will be announced on May 28th.
A number of literary lions get two mentions: Sebastian Barry ( A Long Long Wayand The Secret Scripture), John McGahern ( That They May Face the Rising Sunand Memoir) and Colm Tóibín ( The Masterand Brooklyn); while Roddy Doyle is included for Paula Spencerand Joseph O'Connor for Star of the Sea.
Popular fiction writers include Maeve Binchy ( Heart and Soul) Cathy Kelly ( Lessons in Heartbreak) and Marian Keyes ( This Charming Man).
Bert Wright, the award administrator, said the judges would have liked for their choices to balance the public vote but the sponsors wanted to be “populist”. He acknowledged online voting was geared towards a younger audience. “Some older people get very cross, but the libraries are involved,” he said, so readers could access library computers.
Crime writer John Connolly's success from last year, The Lovers,also hit the shortlist. "Sometimes there are lists of books that people feel they should read but this seems to be one people might actually enjoy reading," he said.
Cecelia Ahernsaid “you try to write a novel that will connect with people . . . to be on the list is an honour”.
Frank McDonald, who co-wrote The Builderswith fellow Irish Timesjournalist Kathy Sheridan, said "the story of the book is the story of how things went wrong".
Michael McLoughlin, managing director of Penguin Ireland, welcomed the award because “publishing books, like all cultural businesses, requires sponsorship”.
Alastair Giles, executive director of the awards, pointed to the international commercial success of Irish writers, with two in the UK top 10 for 2009 and a further six writers in the top 40.
David Bunworth, managing director of Bord Gáis Éireann, who said he has read just five of the 50 titles, acknowledged reading was “cheap, hugely enjoyable and recession-proof”.
Madeleine Keane, chairwoman of the judging panel that picked the shortlist, said “we did not want to be elitist”. The other judges are: Alison Walsh, author, journalist and critic; Declan Burke, author, critic and blogger; Jane Alger, divisional librarian, Dublin city libraries; Mary Healy, buyer, Argosy Wholesalers; Bob Johnston, owner of the Gutter book shop; Maria Dickenson, purchasing manager, Eason’s; Susan Walsh, marketing promotions manager, Dubray Books; Andrew Waters, head book buyer, Hughes Hughes; and Bert Wright, administrator of the Irish Book Awards.
IRISH BOOK OF THE DECADE SHORTLIST: FROM CECELIA AHERN TO ROY KEANE, JOHN McGAHERN TO ROSS O'CARROLL-KELLY
2001
Artemis FowlEoin Colfer
It's a Long Way from Penny ApplesBill Cullen
2002
That They May Face the Rising SunJohn McGahern
KeaneRoy Keane
The Story of Lucy GaultWilliam Trevor
A Secret History of the IRAEd Moloney
Star of the SeaJoseph O'Connor
In the ForestEdna O'Brien
2003
The Speckled PeopleHugo Hamilton
2004
Havoc in its Third YearRonan Bennett
PS I Love YouCecelia Ahern
Tatty ChristineDwyer Hickey
The MasterColm Tóibín
2005
The New PolicemanKate Thompson
A Long Long WaySebastian Barry
MemoirJohn McGahern
The SeaJohn Banville
2006
WinterwoodPatrick McCabe
Paula SpencerRoddy Doyle
Back from the BrinkPaul McGrath
The Boy in the Striped PyjamasJohn Boyne
TenderwireClaire Kilroy
The Pope's ChildrenDavid McWilliams
Yours FaithfullySheila O'Flanagan
The Stolen Village: Baltimore and the Barbary PiratesDes Ekin
Connemara: Listening to the Wind Tim Robinson
Should Have Got Off at Sydney ParadeRoss O'Carroll-Kelly
2007
Walk the Blue FieldsClaire Keegan
The GatheringAnne Enright
Foolish MortalsJennifer Johnston
In the WoodsTana French
With My Lazy EyeJulia Kelly
Judging DevDiarmaid Ferriter
There are Little KingdomsKevin Barry
Skulduggery PleasantDerek Landy
2008
NetherlandJoseph O'Neill
The Truth CommissionerDavid Park
The ParishAlice Taylor
Bog ChildSiobhán Dowd
The Secret ScriptureSebastian Barry
Molly Fox's BirthdayDeirdre Madden
Stepping StonesDennis O'Driscoll and Seamus Heaney
Lessons in HeartbreakCathy Kelly
Heart and SoulMaeve Binchy
The BuildersFrank McDonald and Kathy Sheridan
This Charming ManMarian Keyes
Forgive and ForgetPatricia Scanlan
2009
The LoversJohn Connolly
BrooklynColm Tóibín
Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann
The winning title will be chosen through an online vote on the Irish Book Awards’ website at bookofthedecade.ie and announced at the end of May
