Even when he was starting out as a novelist in his twenties, Alan Garner worried about dying before he had written his books. “It’s a neurosis I’ve always had since I started: that I wouldn’t live long enough to finish,” Garner, 87, said. “Which was bizarre then, but has grown less bizarre now.”
A full 65 years after releasing his first novel, Garner is receiving overdue critical recognition: his latest book, Treacle Walker, is one of six vying to win this year’s Booker prize. He is the oldest author to be shortlisted in the Booker’s 53-year history and is best known for classics such as The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and The Owl Service. The £50,000 prize will be awarded on October 17, his