In a surprise win, Howard Jacobson was awarded the 2010 Man Booker Prize on Tuesday night in a ceremony in London for his novel “The Finkler Question,” BBC informs. Jacobson beat out Tom McCarthy, whose novel “C” had been a favourite among British oddsmakers, and four other books for the honour. “I am speechless,” Jacobson, 68, said as he took the stage, joking, “Fortunately, I prepared one earlier.” Jacobson, a native of England who has written 15 books and has a weekly column in the British newspaper the Independent, has twice been long-listed for the Man Booker – in 2002 and 2006 – but this was the first year he made it to the short list. Jacobson, whose first novel appeared 27 years ago, said he had begun to wonder whether he would ever win the prize, now in its 42nd year. “I was truly flabbergasted,” he told reporters after receiving the award in the medieval splendour of London’s Guildhall. “I’m so sick of being described as the ‘underrated Howard Jacobson’. Poet Andrew Motion, chairman of the judges, said it would be a mistake to describe Jacobson’s work as pure comedy: “It is comic, it is laughter, but it’s laughter in the dark.”
“As all serious artists do, he is mining his immediate milieu as a way of directly unearthing the deeper questions of family, society, belief, culture, relationships — the underlying nature of humanity.” Besides a cheque for $80,000 and a long list of interview requests from the world’s media, Jacobson can expect to see sales of his latest novel soar. The Man Booker, the most prestigious award in British publishing, comes with an award of 50,000 pounds or about $79,000; it all but guarantees bestseller status in the United Kingdom.
The diplomatic daily newspaper Nine O’Clock does not assume responsibility for the information received and published on the public website. The responsibility for the content lies solely with the issuer of the press release.
The diplomatic daily newspaper Nine O’Clock cannot be held accountable for false information transmitted by the recipients of the press releases/announcements.
The diplomatic daily newspaper Nine O’Clock reserves the right not to publish press releases that contain inappropriate expressions or accusations and violations of the rights of other individuals, guaranteed by the Constitution of Romania.
The content of the website www.nineoclock.ro is intended for public information. Copying, reproduction, recompilation, modification, as well as any form of content exploitation from this website are prohibited. The use of the Comments section signifies your agreement to abide by the terms and conditions regarding the publication of comments on www.nineoclock.ro.
