Pamuk leads Man Asian Literary Prize shortlist
Baku, January 11 (AZERTAC). The shortlist for the prestigious $30,000 Man Asian Literary Prize was announced today. Inaugurated in 2007, it is awarded to the best novel by an Asian writer, either written in, or translated into English.
The Turkish Nobel Laureate, Orhan Pamuk`s Silent House is a prominent inclusion in the list. First published in Turkish in 1983, Pamuk`s second novel utilizes stream of consciousness to explore inter-generational strife in the period before the 1980 Turkish military coup d`état.
Two novels included on the 2012 Man Booker Prize shortlist are recognized by the Man Asian Literary Prize judges. Jeet Thayil`s debut novel, Narcopolis, explores the impact of opium addiction in 1970s Bombay.
Tan Twan Eng`s second novel, The Garden of Evening Mists explores the exotic settings and mystical aspects of Japanese culture through the eyes of a young law graduate who encounters the secretive owner and creator of the only Japanese garden in Malaya.
Also shortlisted is Pakistani author, Musharraf Ali Farooqi`s Between Clay and Dust which tells the austerely written story of a former champion wrestler in an unnamed Pakistani city after the partition of India.
The fifth and final inclusion is Japanese writer, Hiromi Kawakami`s The Briefcase which traces the development of the relationship between a thirty-eight year old office worker and her former high school literature teacher.
The panel of judges is led by literary critic and journalist Maya Jaggi and also includes award-winning Vietnamese-American novelist Monique Truong and Indian writer Vikram Chandra. The winner will be announced on March 14. Winning translators are awarded $5,000.
The 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize was awarded to South Korean author Kyung-Sook Shin for her novel Please Look After Mom, a story about a family`s guilty soul-searching after the disappearance of their elderly mother that has sold over two million copies.
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