Israeli writer David Grossman’s novel
A Horse Walks Into
a Bar has won this year’s Man Booker International Prize, one of the most
important literary prizes in English language.
He is the first Israeli to win a Booker Prize.
Grossman is a bestselling Israeli writer of fiction,
non-fiction and children’s literature, whose works have been translated into 36
languages. Born and based in Jerusalem,
Grossman has long been recognised as one of the world’s great novelists, with numerous
global awards.
A Horse Walks Into a Bar unfolds over the course
of one final show by stand-up comedian, Dovaleh Gee. Charming, erratic and repellent – Dovaleh exposes a wound
he has been living with for years: a fateful and gruesome choice he had to make
between the two people who were dearest to him. With themes that encompass
betrayal between lovers, the treachery of friends, guilt and redress, A Horse
Walks into a Bar is a shocking and breathtaking read.
“David Grossman has attempted an ambitious high-wire act
of a novel, and he’s pulled it off spectacularly,” said the chair of judges and
director of the Edinburgh international book festival Nick Barley. “A Horse
Walks into a Bar shines a spotlight on the effects of grief, without any hint
of sentimentality. The central character is challenging and flawed, but
completely compelling. We were bowled over by Grossman’s willingness to take
emotional as well as stylistic risks: every sentence counts, every word matters
in this supreme example of the writer’s craft.”
The prize will be shared with his English translator
Jessica Cohen.
More information >>
以色列作家大衛格羅斯曼 (David Grossman) 以作品《A Horse Walks Into a Bar》獲得2017年布克國際獎，是首位以色列人獲得這個英語文學的重要獎項。
在耶路撒冷出生的葛羅斯曼是暢銷作者，更是當代公認的偉大作家，榮獲多項國際獎項。他出版的小說與非小說著作超過17本，其中包括兒童文學。他的作品被譯成多達36種語言。
《A Horse Walks Into a Bar》講的是以色列脫口秀主持人每天面對觀眾的心理掙扎，評審認為他挑戰小說寫作的新視野，讓作品達到新的境界。「作品對等呈現了幽默與悲傷，失落與希望，殘酷與悲憫緒，即便在最絕望的時刻，人物都還能找到繼續邁進的勇氣。」
他將和英語版譯者潔西卡柯恩平分獎金。