Amos Oz, David Grossman shortlisted for Man Booker Prize
The two Israeli authors are among 6 likely to win the prestigious literary award
By AMY SPIROUpdated: APRIL 23, 2017 00:02Israeli author Amos Oz(photo credit: REUTERS)
Amos Oz and David Grossman were among the six authors announced on the shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize on Thursday.The winner of the award, which will be announced in June, will receive £50,000 to be split evenly between the author and translator of the work.Oz was nominated for his work Judas, which was translated by Nicholas de Lange, and Grossman was nominated for A Horse Walks into a Bar, translated by Jessica Cohen. All authors and translators on the shortlist receive a £1,000 prize each.The prestigious Man Booker Award has been presented since the 1960s, and the International Prize, for an English translation of a book by a living author of any nationality, since 2005.Oz was previously shortlisted for the award in 2007.Last year, The Jerusalem Post reviewed the translation of Judas as “a complex novel that engages the head and the heart.” And earlier this year, the Post review of A Horse Walks into a Bar said, “In little more than 200 pages, Grossman brings us to the nerve center of his psyche.”The other finalists for the prize this year are Mathias Enard of France for Compass, Roy Jacobsen of Norway for The Unseen, Dorthe Nors of Denmark for Mirror, Shoulder, Signal and Samanta Schweblin of Argentina for Fever Dream.“Our shortlist spans the epic and the everyday,” said Nick Barley, chairman of the 2017 judging panel. “From fevered dreams to sleepless nights, from remote islands to overwhelming cities, these wonderful novels shine a light on compelling individuals struggling to make sense of their place in a complex world.”Oz and Grossman are two of Israel’s most acclaimed authors.Oz won the Israel Prize in 1998 as well as a wide range of other awards. His 2002 autobiographical novel, A Tale of Love and Darkness, was translated into more than two dozen languages and turned into a film directed by Natalie Portman.
Grossman has won the Sapir, Bialik and Emet prizes. His 2008 novel To The End of the Land was translated into many languages and his 2000 work Someone to Run With was the basis for an Israeli thriller movie.