The Man Booker International Prize – A Winner is Chosen

You may remember I did a post in March announcing the 13 writers nominated for this years Man Booker International Prize, an award that takes place every two years. It celebrates a diverse mixture of writers from around the world, acknowledging those writers whose work has had an effect and touched audiences internationally.

I was particularly excited about this because one of my favourite writers of all times, Philip Pullman, had made the list. But before I go into that, here’s a reminder of the 13 nominated writers:

Wang Anyi

Juan Goytisolo

James Kelman

 John le Carre

Amin Maalouf

David Malouf

Dacia Maraini

Rohinton Mistry

Philip Pullman

Marilynne Robinson

Philip Roth

Su Tong

Anne Tyler

Off course there can only be one winner and this year the award went to the American writer Mr Philip Roth.

Philip Roth has produced an accolade of highly acclaimed work over the years, creating literature that has indeed spread its influence internationally. His new status as the Winner of the 2011 Man Booker International Prize is sure to cement his name even further as a great contributor to the literary world. He was described today on The Man Booker website as a ’Literary Giant’,  quite a testament to his mark as one of the literary worlds greatly acknowledged writers wouldn’t you say?

Reading Roth’s acceptance comments I couldn’t help get slight goose pimples, I’m not a writer myself so I can only begin to comprehend what an exciting honour it must be to win such an award. To have your work internationally recognised must be both over whelming and incredibly touching.

I’d really like to take advantage of m blog today and say congratulations to Philip Roth.

 You can read all of Roth’s comments and indeed The Man Bookers thoughts on this award at their website by clicking the above link.

So who did you want to win? Did you have a preference? Are you a fan of Philip Roth?

If you’ve read my previous post about this then you’ll already know that I was rooting for Philip Pullman to win as he is one of my all time favourite writers. I will admit a slight disappointment when I realised he hadn’t won, but hey he was nominated, that is still a huge honour and acknowledgment for all of the writers involved.

I’m certainly not sad to see Philip Roth win either, in fact if the award didn’t go to Philip Pullman then I’m very happy to see it go to Mr Philip Roth. A  writer who I was first introduced to in my uni days and someone whose work always inspires me.

So what’s your reaction, how do you feel about today’s announcement? I’d love to hear your thoughts as always. It would be great to get a universal reaction to a universal award.

The Man Booker International Prize – Finalists announced

I’m excited to be able to say that the finalists for The Man Booker International Prize have at last been announced. I for one am extremely excited by the news because I’m a huge fan of the award, but also I’m very pleased to see that one of my favourite writers of all time have made it onto the list, but more of that later. Without further ado, here is the list:

Wang Anyi

Juan Goytisolo

James Kelman

 John le Carre

Amin Maalouf

David Malouf

Dacia Maraini

Rohinton Mistry

Philip Pullman

Marilynne Robinson

Philip Roth

Su Tong

Anne Tyler

The Man Booker International Prize is a particular favourite of mine as it celebrates and recognises work from across the globe; shining light on all areas of the world and the wonderful work that comes from. From China to America to Australia and Spain the finalists this year are a mixed bag and reading any one of them should provide an insightful and thrilling read.

However I must admit that I’m probably a little biased this year towards the winner as my favourite writer of all time has made the list and I really am delighted to see him nominated. I’m talking about Philip Pullman, whose work I first discovered when a friend recommended the ‘His Dark Material’ trilogy to me. At first I was sceptical about a book that had ‘daemons’ and alternate universes but as soon as I started reading it I was hooked and I have been a fan ever since.

For me Pullman is a great credit to the literary world, especially because his work is accessible to children and adults which is something worth celebrating. And his works are always so richly steeped in imagination that it makes reading his books, which often contain underlying topical themes such as religion, all the more exciting and dramatic.

However there are some really talented and great writers on the list that I’m pleased to see nominated, and as for the ones I’ve unfortunately not read yet, well I’m pleased they’ve been brought to my attention and look forward to reading them soon.

Can anyone recommend any of the authors on the list?

There is also a little controversy this year as nominated writer John le Carre has asked for his name to be withdrawn from the competition. I’m sure this will come as a huge blow to those who nominated him and wanted to see him win this award. However I must admit I find it brave and admirable that Carre has the courage to admit that he does not write to win prizes and has stood by this. Personally I love any literary award as it helps inspire my TBR list. But every writer should have the right to chose something like this and Carre has clearly made up his mind. I do hope though that this doesn’t detract too much attention from the award which I will be following.

Have you read any books by any of the authors on the list? Perhaps you have a particular favourite? What do you think about John le Carre’s decision to withdraw from the competition? I’d love to hear your thoughts.