The 2017 Man Booker Prize Winner!
Tonight, the Man Booker Prize winner was announced.
Lincoln in the Bardo
by George Saunders
Click here to purchase on Amazon.com
Click here to purchase on Amazon UK
See Lee’s review here.
Well, Lincoln in the Bardo is quite an accomplishment, if not one I ended up loving. I’m also not in love with the fact that this is the second year in a row this quintessentially British prize has gone to an American author, for a book that is very American (last year Paul Beatty’s The Sellout won).
Still, congratulations are in order, and I know many are going to be thrilled with this winner!
I think the Booker intentionally gave up on the idea of being quintessentially British when they opened the competition to anything written in English. I remember it was a very controversial move when they did it, but the goal was to be a global (English) prize, so you have to expect there will be more than an occasional American winner. In fact, three of the six authors on the shortlist are American. Of course, the award has never really been just a British one. Writers from India, Canada, Australia, and Nigeria (among others) won the award even before US authors became eligible.
You’ve enumerated my issues with the prize’s change nicely, David! Of course, it’s been broader than Great Britain for some time, being an award for Commonwealth countries. This inclusion of Americans makes it much less likely those authors will get recognized when the award used to feature several.