Amos Oz and David Grossman Longlisted for Man Booker International Prize
Oz was nominated for “Judas,” translated by Nicholas de Lange, his first novel in a decade, while Grossman was nominated for his latest work, “A Horse Walks Into a Bar,” translated by Jessica Cohen. The judges considered 126 books in all. The £50,000 award, which recognizes fiction from around the world that is translated into English, is split between the author and his translator. The short list will be released on April 20 and the winner announced on June 14. Oz’s novel – a coming-of-age story about both a young man and a young country – is set in the winter of 1959, and considers the contemporary meaning of Judas in the nascent Jewish state.
Grossman’s book, about a stand-up comic, is “an unsettling, cathartic, confessional stream-of-consciousness soliloquy,” our reviewer wrote. Grossman’s book, about a stand-up comic, is “an unsettling, cathartic, confessional stream-of-consciousness soliloquy,” our reviewer wrote. “It’s been an exceptionally strong year for translated fiction,” said Nick Barley, Edinburgh International Book Festival director and chair of the judging panel. “From powerful depictions and shocking exposes of historical and contemporary horrors to intimate and compelling portraits of people going about their daily lives, our longlisted books are above all breathtakingly well-written. “Fiction in translation is flourishing: in these times when walls are being built, this explosion of brilliant ideas from around the world arriving into the English language feels more important than ever,” Barley said.
The other authors who made the list are:
- Mathias Enard (France)
- Wioletta Greg (Poland)
- Stefan Hertmans (Belgium)
- Roy Jacobsen (Norway)
- Ismail Kadare (Albania)
- Jon Kalman Stefansson (Iceland)
- Yan Lianke (China)
- Alain Mabanckou (France)
- Clemens Meyer (Germany)
- Dorthe Nors (Denmark)
- Samanta Schweblin (Argentina)