Publisher Liaison Matthew O'Donoghue tells us why Will Self's Umbrella should win this year's Man Booker Prize. Umbrella is a book predominantly concerned with two things: family and language. It isn’t a book concerned with disorientating the reader to the point of incomprehensibility but it is interested in making the reader put some work in. The narrative for the book could come with the notice “some assembly required”.  If you are prepared to put a bit of effort in (more than with most books, less than you expect) this glorious, expansive melodrama pays off in grand style. Read more →