Irish writer wins Man Booker Prize for The Gathering
Irish writer Anne Enright has won the Man Booker Prize for literature forher book The Gathering, earning$100,000 Cdn.
Enright, who lives in Dublin, won theprestigious award over a field that included Ian McEwan, a previous Man Booker winner and the bookmakers' favourite, for his novel On Chesil Beach.
The Gathering is about a Dublin woman in her 30s who escapes her extended Catholic family only to be pulled back by the death of her alcoholic brother.
"Anne Enright has written a powerful, uncomfortable and, at times, angry book," said Howard Davies,chair of the judging panel.
"The Gathering is an unflinching look at a grieving family in tough and striking language. We think she is an impressive novelist. We expect to hear a lot more from her."
The book "has an absolutely brilliant ending,"he added.
Enright, 45, was educated in Dublin, Canada and the U.K., and worked as a television writer and producer before she published her first book.
Her other works include The Wig My Father Wore, What Are You Like? and The Portable Virgin.
The Gatheringwas chosen from a shortlist of six books, including:
- Darkman's, by Nicola Barker of London.
- The Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, a Pakistani-born Briton.
- Mister Pip, by Lloyd Jones of New Zealand.
- On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan of London.
- Animal's People, by Indra Sinha, an Indian-born writer living in France.
Man Booker judges have a history of defying the odds when awarding the prize, which usually brings a huge sales boost for the winner.
The prize, formerly known as the Booker, is open to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth of former British colonies. Founded in 1969, it was renamed when the financial services conglomerate Man Group PLC began sponsoring it four years ago.