A | London, Oct 18 (UNI) "The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida" by Sri Lankan Shehan Karunatilaka, a supernatural satire set amid a murderous civil war in the island nation, has won the Booker Prize.
The novel is about a photographer who wakes up dead, with a week to ask his friends to find his photos and expose the brutality of war, BBC and other media reported.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, presented the prize, and the author said it had been "an honour and a privilege" to be on the shortlist.
Karunatilaka said as he accepted his prize: "My hope is that in the not too distant future... Sri Lanka has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work."
The writer said he decided in 2009 to write "a ghost story where the dead could offer their perspective" after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, "when there was a raging debate over how many civilians died and whose fault it was".
"I hope it's in print in 10 years... if it is, I hope it's written in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories, and that Seven Moons will be in the fantasy section of the bookshop, next to the dragons, the unicorns and will not be mistaken for realism or political satire," the BBC reported
He added that he had "self-censored" a couple of short stories after author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in August, having faced years of death threats for his novel "The Satanic Verses", which some Muslims see as blasphemous.
"I was in the process of publishing a collection of short stories when this incident happened, and I discovered a couple which I don't think was offensive to any religion," Karunatilaka said.
"But my wife said, can you not do that? You've got two young kids. This story is not that good. Just leave it out."
He added that "this is something that hangs over all of us if we're writing in South Asia, especially writing about politics or religion", the BBC said.
Head judge Neil MacGregor praised the "scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and hilarity" of the novel, calling it an "afterlife noir" which "takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death".
He said the judges' decision had been unanimous, adding all of the shortlisted books were "all really about one question, and that is what's the point of an individual life?"
The prestigious £50,000 prize, for a single work of fiction published in the UK in English, also gives the other five writers on the shortlist £2,500 each.
"The Seven Moons of Maali" is Karunatilaka's second novel, having previously won awards including the Commonwealth Book Prize for his debut book Chinaman, which was called the "second best cricket book of all time" by cricketers' almanac Wisden.
Born in 1975, the writer has also worked as an advertising copywriter, and his songs, scripts and stories have been published in Rolling Stone, GQ and National Geographic.
MacGregor, a former director of London's National Gallery and the British Museum, added that the judges read all 170 books put forward for the prize, then whittled them down to 30. They then re-read those, before deciding on the final six, which they read for a third time, the report said.
The other nominees were: "Glory" by NoViolet Bulawayo, "The Trees" by Percival Everett, "Treacle Walker" by Alan Garner, "Small Things Like These" by Claire Keegan and "Oh William!" by Elizabeth Strout.
The Booker-winning novel tells the story of the photographer of its title, who in 1990 wakes up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. With no idea who killed him, Maali has seven moons to contact the people he loves most and lead them to a hidden cache of photos of civil war atrocities that will rock Sri Lanka, the Daily Mirror reported.
The judges were unanimous in their decision to award the prize to Karunatilaka, according to the chair.
Receiving his prize, Karunatilaka addressed the people of Sri Lanka in Tamil and Sinhalese. He summarised what he said in English: “I write these books for you… Let’s keep sharing these stories.”
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida is published by the independent press Sort of Books. This year is the first time a book by the publisher has been longlisted for the prize.
Karunatilaka has become the second Sri Lankan-born author to win, following Michael Ondaatje, who won in 1992 with "The English Patient".
In his Guardian review, Tomiwa Owolade said the book’s “scenarios are often absurd … but executed with a humour and pathos that ground the reader”. He added: “Karunatilaka has done artistic justice to a terrible period in his country’s history.”
Karunatilaka, was born in Galle, Sri Lanka, in 1975 and grew up in Colombo.
UNI MR。 每经编辑：肖芮冬
7月21日，商业航天板块早盘下挫后持续修复，午后表现活跃。截至收盘，中证卫星产业指数上涨4.4%，国证通用航空产业指数上涨2.6%。
B | 消息面上，预计在7月22日，来自中国的“全球最大固体运载火箭”——东方空间“引力一号”遥四运载火箭有望在上海东部海域执行海上卫星发射任务，目前，该火箭已经迈入常态化商业运营阶段。除此以外，蓝箭航天朱雀三号重复使用遥二运载火箭也有望在近期发射，未来一个月，我国或将有十余款火箭密集发射。
C | 每日经济新闻。
Current article:http://5jq.feishuozhuangkeqi.cyou/9sjo/20260826/820752.doc
Published on:14:01:34
相关阅读 本周国内豆油现货报价上涨磴口县关于对涉山涉水旅游景区及网红打卡点实施临时关停的公告泽连斯基谈与前防长“闹掰”：提供的错误信息让我在特朗普面前“下不来台”，他自己走错了路；泽连斯基7月突然宣布解职费多罗夫桐庐县金牛村：和台风“抢”葡萄乌克兰第一夫人出马，“软实力”能否改变塞尔维亚亲俄立场？史上最大规模重组开启！大众CEO内部警告：当前形势比严峻更严峻还记得特朗普的小儿子巴伦吗？身高超两米了？普京与叙利亚过渡政府总统通话 讨论俄叙关系等议题,中国新闻网,普京与叙利亚过渡政府总统通话 讨论俄叙关系等议题
热门文章
兴城市用心用情管理 激发选派干部干事创业热情
天合光能：签订212.1亿元高纯硅料原料采购合同_公告_消息
【仓单】8月26日上期所沪铜期货仓单较上一日下降4028吨
20亿年后，宇宙碰撞或将地球抛出银河系。
最新文章
克莱：热火打造了全面的阵容且有字母哥 能为我创造大量投篮机会
从一间房到“此心安处”——杭州青年人才社区建设助推青年与城市“双向奔赴”
SpaceX launches 54 more Starlink internet satellites into space德安东尼谈及18年西决:保罗伤前 我们觉得赢定了Exclusive: When Esha Deol Called Dharmendra and Hema Malini Excellent BabysittersBest Korean Movies on OTT: A Streaming Guide to The Finest Cinema From South Korea
人气排行 “请3天假休13天”！最新休假安排，不少人准备提前下手Maverick Games 与 Focus Entertainment 达成合作，《僵尸赛车》正式确定发行商更强的动力+全新的底盘调校 大众计划推出ID.2 GTI Clubsport版本兴城市一单位获评省级文化产业示范基地无家族，不国战《猎国ol》激情PK族旗所指皆为战场镜报：恩佐已成为英超头号公敌，所有英格兰球迷都不会原谅他西工大入选全国首批国家级创新创业教育实践基地建设单位_教育部办公厅_大学B站百大UP旗下品牌合作《影之刃零》 官宣做周边
查看所有0条评论>>