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Christos Tsiolkas' The Slap (Tuskar Rock) was by far the strongest-seller of the titles longlisted for the Man Booker last week, with all the contenders apart from Room and C, both only published last week, enjoying week-on-week sales boosts.
Tsiolkas' controversial Commonwealth Writers Prize winner sold 5,593 copies last week, and sits second behind David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (Sceptre) on a total-sales-to-date ranking of the longlistees. The latter, which has sold 30,450 copies to date across all editions, just 1,990 more than The Slap, picked up sales of 1,264 last week.
The biggest week-on-week sales boost was enjoyed by Damon Galgut's In a Strange Room (Atlantic). The book sold just three copies during the week ending 24th July, but it sold 189 last week (up 6,200% week-on-week).
There were also big boosts for Alan Warner's The Stars in the Bright Sky (Cape), up 604% week-on-week, Lisa Moore's February (Chatto), up 414% but to just 36 copies sold - the least popular longlistee), and two-time winner Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America, Faber, (up 409%).
Meanwhile, both Tom McCarthy's C (Cape) and Emma Donoghue's Room (Picador) clocked their first sales - 181 and 189 copies respectively.
Total sales of the Man Booker dozen equalled 9,495 copies last week, up 53% week-on-week.