In his acceptance speech Banville expressed his pleasure at a work of art winning the prize, a statement that led to him being accused of arrogance. He later explained, "Whether "The Sea" is a successful work of art is not for me to say, but a work of art is what I set out to make. The kind of novels that I write very rarely win the Man Booker Prize it was then referred to, which in general promotes good, middlebrow fiction."