George Saunders has won the Man Booker Prize with Lincoln in the Bardo, the second year in a row that the award has gone to a US author writing about American history. The Lincoln of the title is Abraham Lincoln, grieving over the death of his beloved 11-year-old son, Willie, from typhoid fever in 1862. The book intersperses historical accounts, both real and imagined, with monologues from a cast of ghosts watching over the boy in the after-life.
Saunders said he felt disbelief and delight at his win, but joked: “People always say it’s humbling, which is stupid because it’s not – it actually fills you with s—. But it’s wonderful and I feel very grateful.” Lincoln in the Bardo divides readers, he said. “The book has a weird form and I think it’s off-putting to some readers. Anecdotally, people will reach a crossover moment of 30 pages, and either go ahead or abandon ship.” In his speech, Saunders thanked “this beautiful country, which at the moment I’m madly in love with – even more than usual”.
But while the judges praised Saunders for a “unique” and “extraordinary” piece of work, success for another American author will raise questions about the wisdom of changing the Man Booker rules. Previously, only British and Commonwealth writers were eligible for the prize. But in 2014, many British writers were dismayed when the eligibility rules were changed to include any novel written in English and published in the UK. Organisers said at the time they wanted to abandon “the constraints of geography and national boundaries”.
Last year, the prize went to Paul Beatty for The Sellout, a satire on US race relations. Half of this year’s shortlist was made of up Americans – Saunders, Paul Auster and Emily Fridlund. The Booker-nominated British writer, Tibor Fischer, said of the shortlist: “I like competition. But shouldn’t there be a level playing field? British writers aren’t eligible for the big American awards.” He added that “the presence of the Americans is simply making it harder for British talent to flourish or even survive (not to mention the writers from the Commonwealth). If the Man Booker cares about British literary fiction, maybe it should have a rethink.”
Baroness Lola Young, chair of the judges, said that the panel did not take nationality into account. “I can say that, hand on heart. We’re solely concerned with the book and what that book is telling us. Nationality is just not an issue,” she said.
Announcing the winner in a ceremony at London’s Guildhall, Baroness Young said: “The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent and deeply moving narrative.” The judges spent five hours deliberating.
Source: Telegraph
