Man Booker Prize goes to second American in a row
Mr Saunders, 58, described the award as a great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life.
US author George Saunders on Wednesday became only the second American writer to win Britain’s renowned Man Booker Prize, which was awarded for his first full-length novel Lincoln in the Bardo.
Judges for the world’s most prestigious English-language literary award praised as “utterly original” the book that chronicles the death of Abraham Lincoln’s 11-year-old son Willie using the accounts of hundreds of narrators.
“The form and style of this utterly original novel reveals a witty, intelligent, and deeply moving narrative,” said Lola Young, chair of the judging panel, in announcing the prize in London.
Mr Saunders, 58, described the award as a “great honour, which I hope to live up to with the rest of my work, for the rest of my life.”
In a brief, politically-tinged acceptance speech, he made several thinly-veiled references to the controversial policies of US President Donald Trump.
“We live in a strange time,” he told the audience. “In the US now we’re hearing a lot about the need to protect culture. Well, this tonight is the culture.”