Want to know how to write a novel worthy of the illustrious Man Booker Prize? Well, from the looks of it, you should probably make sure to kill a bunch of characters. This chart, created by the good folks at Delayed Gratification (where you can also see a larger version), breaks the 2011 longlisted novels into their prevailing themes, and reveals that every single one was dominated by death, trailed by the far-off second and third place themes of love and betrayal (and even further back, but no less important, nanny trust issues, homicidal cowboy brothers, and horniness). We don’t know what these trends say about our literary culture today, but either way, we’ll be sure to kill some main characters off soon. [via Delayed Gratification h/t The Rumpus]