Monica Ali on Booker Prize list

Her book that narrates the story of a Bangladeshi girl sent to London to be married is one of the 23 titles chosen from 117 entries in contention for the £50,000 prize. With her father from Bangladesh and mother an Englishwoman, Monica Ali addresses the themes of ethnicity and identity in her novel. She has also struggled to stop critics categorising her by her ethnic background.

She is among a couple of good younger female novelists in the list such as Zoe Heller, Julie Myerson and Julia Darling.

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The bookmakers got busy almost immediately. Bookmakers Ladbrokes chose the South African author JM Coetzee, the two-time Booker winner, as the 4-1 favourite with his novel Elizabeth Costello. There are two other previous Booker winners in the list, Margaret Atwood, winner three years ago with The Blind Assassin and Graham Swift. The two are joint favourites at 8-1. Monica Ali is 14-1 favourite, at present.

The 35-year-old Oxford graduate, Monica Ali's, choice is seen as a vindication.