LONDON (AP) — German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for fiction Tuesday for “Kairos,” the story of a tangled love affair during the final years of East Germany’s existence. Erpenbeck said she hoped the book would help readers learn there was more to life in the now-vanished Communist country than depicted in “The Lives of Others,” the Academy Award-winning 2006 film about pervasive state surveillance in the 1980s. “The only thing that everybody knows is that they had a wall, they were terrorizing everyone with the Stasi, and that’s it,” she said. “That is not all there is.” “Kairos” traces an affair from utopian beginning to bitter end, and draws parallels between personal lives and the life of the state. The book beat five other finalists, chosen from 149 submitted novels, for the prize, which recognizes fiction from around the world that has been translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland. The 50,000 pounds ($64,000) in prize money is divided between author and translator. |
Sienna Miller looks sensational in Victoria Beckham's soughtBaby Reindeer creator Richard Gadd reveals why he has banned his parents from watching Netflix hitThe UK government acted unlawfully in approving a climate plan, a High Court judge has ruledIs this the real meaning behind Kendrick Lamar's 'diss track' Euphoria?Cavaliers, Mavericks trying to close out 1stNOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this weekJay Blades' wife Lisa shares cryptic message in the wake of couple's splitUK local elections: Boris Johnson turned away after forgetting photo IDRublev beats Fritz to reach Madrid Open final against AugerGoogle, Justice Department make final arguments about whether search engine is a monopoly