The Booker Goes to Banville

The news is official: the illustrious Man Booker Prize goes to John Banville's novel, The Sea, described in the official press release as "a novel of loss, identity and remembrance. It is written in beautifully crafted prose and has led to Banville being heralded as ‘a master at the top of his game’ and ‘one of the great fictional stylists of our time.’" Lit blogger Mark Sarvas, of The Elegant Variation, is beside himself. Also noted in the blog of the (soon-to-be-illustrious) Blooker Prize.