The International Booker Prize has announced its shortlist for this year, featuring six captivating titles that delve into a wide range of themes and emotions. Among the nominees are a novel about a woman grieving her twin and another tracing North and South Korean history through a family of railway workers.
One of the standout nominees is Jenny Erpenbeck’s “Kairos,” a novel translated from German by Michael Hofmann. The story follows a torrid affair between a student and a 50-something novelist in communist East Germany, described by reviewer Dwight Garner as a “beautiful bummer” that allows readers to truly immerse themselves in its narrative.
Another notable nominee is Itamar Vieira Junior’s “Crooked Plow,” translated from Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz. This debut novel explores the different approaches two sisters take to coping with poverty in their rural community, offering a compelling vision of history’s downtrodden and neglected, according to reviewer Anderson Tepper.
The International Booker Prize, which celebrates fiction translated into English, offers a prize money of 50,000 pounds to be shared equally between the winning author and translator. Eleanor Wachtel, the chair of the judges, praised this year’s shortlist for its ability to intertwine the intimate and the political in original ways, showcasing lives lived against the backdrop of history.
Other nominees include Selva Almada’s “Not a River,” Jente Posthuma’s “What I’d Rather Not Think About,” Ia Genberg’s “The Details,” and Hwang Sok-yong’s “Mater 2-10.” Each of these novels brings a unique perspective and storytelling style to the table, promising readers a diverse and enriching reading experience.
The winner of this year’s International Booker Prize will be announced during a ceremony at the Tate Modern art museum in London on May 21. Stay tuned to see which of these exceptional novels will take home the prestigious award.
