![]() ![]() Richard Powers: The author of bestselling 'The Overstory' has been nominated for the second time for 'Bewilderment' Image: Kirsty O'Connor/PA/dpa/picture alliance ![]() "I knew I wanted to make the line between fact and fiction imperceptible," said the author. When a shopkeeper is brutally killed, the accused Mahmood, a Somali immigrant, is secure in his innocence - until the trial nears and he comes face-to-face with a conspiracy and innate prejudices that will deal him the ultimate punishment. The first British Somali novelist to be shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Nadifa Mohamed's third novel, "The Fortune Men," is the harrowing fictionalized story of Mahmood Mattan, a father and petty thief who was wrongfully convicted of murder in 1952 - and the last man to be hanged in Cardiff Prison in Wales. Nadifa Mohamed is the first British Somalian to make the shortlist Image: Kirsty O'Connor/PA/dpa/picture alliance The book tells the story of a social media guru who travels a world dominated by her existence on the internet, which she refers to as 'the portal.' Two urgent texts from her mother pierce the guru's bubble. Having previously written two poetry collections, and the memoir "Priestdaddy," the contributing editor to the London Review of Books has penned a poignant drama of life in the internet age. The US poet and writer is the only debut novelist on the 2021 shortlist, with "No One is Talking About This" also shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction. Patricia Lockwood is the only debut novelist on the list Image: Kirsty O'Connor/PA/dpa/picture alliance Here is a short introduction to their nominations for the 2021 Booker Prize. The other five authors shortlisted authors included US debut novelist Patricia Lockwood, Sri Lankan writer Anuk Arudpragasam and British Somali novelist Nadifa Mohamed. ![]() The BBC’s Samira Ahmed also interviewed Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri, who won the Booker three decades ago in 1991 with "The Famished Road" and reflected on how the prize changed his life. The ceremony included a conversation between the 2020 winner Douglas Stuart - for "Shuggie Bain" - with the Duchess of Cornwall at Clarence House, the traditional encounter having been postponed because of the pandemic. Speaking of Galgut's "The Promise," she said it combined "an extraordinary story, rich themes, the history of the last 40 years in South Africa, in an incredibly well-wrought package.'' by dealing with the legacies of the past," she added. But effectively, the economy keeps everyone more or less where they were." 'The legacies of the past'ĭuring the ceremony at BBC’s Radio Theatre in London, the chair of the Booker Prize judges, historian Maya Jasanoff, said all six shortlisted novels "share a sense of innovation" and are "very immersive." The novels contained a "sense of the present. "Basically, apartheid’s dead and gone, but apartheid is still here," Galgut said in an interview with The Irish Times about the novel's underlying theme. "The laws of apartheid are not on the statute books anymore. But the children are conflicted over whether to follow through on their mother's wish. The matriarch's dying wish - or promise - is to gift a house on the property to the Black woman who has worked for the family her whole life. His latest novel narrates the story of a white South African farming family across four decades that are punctuated by a death in the clan. ![]() 'The Promise' was a favorite for the prize Image: The Booker Prize 2021 that come from this wonderful continent," he said. "I would like to accept this on behalf of all the stories. "It's taken a long while to get here, and now I think that I shouldn't be here," Galgut said somewhat modestly, adding that he was "stunned" to win the award. He also dedicated the prize to all African writers. The South African playwright and novelist wrote his first novel aged 17 and won the 2015 Sunday Times Fiction Prize for his eighth book, "Arctic Summer." South African author Damon Galgut has won the £50,000 (€58,750) Booker Prize for "The Promise," beating out a quality field that included one other previously shortlisted author, Richard Powers. ![]()
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