Arundhati Roy out of the Man Booker race

September 13, 2017 16:41

Authors from the United Kingdom and the United States dominated the 2017 Man Booker Prize shortlist announced, as the only long-listed Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, failed to make the cut.

Roy, who won the literary award worth 50,000 pounds for her debut book 'The God of Small Things' in 1997, had featured on the long-list for her latest novel 'The Ministry of Utmost Happiness'.

The book was described as "a rich and vital book" that "comes from the bowels of India" by the judges.

The short-list includes American authors Paul Auster for "4321", Emily Fridlund for "History of Wolves", and George Saunders for "Lincoln in the Bardo". The British authors include Pakistan-born Mohsin Hamid for "Exit West", Fiona Mozley for "Elmet" and Ali Smith for "Autumn".

The final six will now battle for the coveted award to be announced on October 17 at Guildhall here.

The shortlist, which features three women and three men, covers a wide range of subjects, from the struggle of a family trying to retain its self-sufficiency in rural England to an amorous tale of two refugees seeking to flee an unnamed city in the throes of civil war.

Two first-time female writers -- Fridlund and Mozley -- are joined by two previously shortlisted authors, Hamid, who had been short-listed in 2007 for "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", and Smith, who made the cut for the fourth time.

Mozley, a part-time worker at a UK bookshop, is also the youngest author on the list, aged 29.

The 2017 judging panel, led by Baroness Lola Young, said the short-listed novels, each in their own way, challenge and subtly shift preconceptions about the nature of love, about the experience of time, about questions of identity and even death.

"With six unique and intrepid books that collectively push against the borders of convention, this year's shortlist both acknowledges established authors and introduces new voices to the literary stage," Young said.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Jolt to MVA as Cong leader quits campaigning over no Muslim LS candidate

In a letter to Kharge, Khan said he will not campaign for party candidates for the remaining phases of the Lok Sabha polls and is also resigning from the state Congress campaign committee.

NIA chargesheets 14th accused in 2022 Coimbatore car bomb case

Naseer and his associates had conspired to wage war against the government of India and also to kill Indians in order to destabilise the country and create communal disharmony, it said.

India's Biggest Bow Arch String Girder

Glimpses of India's biggest Bowstring/Bow Arch Sting Girder installed by the Hindustan Construction Company on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link at 3.25 am, Friday, April 26, 2024.

IPL PIX: Punjab Kings beat KKR in record chase

IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Kolkata Knight Riders and Punjab Kings in Kolkata on Friday.

'Stats are going out of the window'

'Very pleasing. Most importantly the win, cricket has turned to baseball isn't it? We're delighted with the two points.'