This year’s winner of the Man Booker International Prize is announced as Israeli author David Grossman for his novel A Horse Walks into a Bar, translated by Jessica Cohen and published by Jonathan Cape.
Last year was the first year that the Man Booker International recognised not only the winning author, but also the translator too. Both winner and translator will receive the prize, £25,000 cash, plus a further £1,000 for making the shortlist. The winner was announced last night at an awards dinner at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
A Horse Walks into a Bar was chosen from the 126 books originally submitted, shortlisted a couple of months ago, and announced the winner last night. The book is set in a comedy club in Tel Aviv and is about a stand up comic in crisis, and an onstage meltdown as he shares his own personal hell in the course of a single performance.
The book received rave reviews from the judging panel calling it an ‘ambitious high wire of a novel’ in which ‘every word matters’.
Translator Jessica Cohen said she was overwhelmed with the prize and pledged half her winnings to B’Tselem, an organisation that tackles human rights violations in occupied territories.
Last year’s winners were South Korean author Han Kang and translator Deborah Smith for the Vegetarian.
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