Paul Beatty has become the first ever American to win the prestigious Man Booker Prize for his book, The Sellout.
Established in 1969, the winner of the Man Booker receives £50,000 or currently $81,465.81 Canadian dollars to be exact. For those authors that were shortlisted, £2,500 or $4,073.94 is awarded to each of them.
The five judges were unanimous in their decision, which was made at a four-hour meeting on the evening of the 25 October; the author was presented with the prize at a black- tie dinner later that evening.
Beatty’s The Sellout is a biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, it challenges the sacred tenets of the United States Constitution, urban life, the civil rights movement, the father-son relationship, and the holy grail of racial equality—the black Chinese restaurant.
If The Sellout doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, here are the books that were short-listed:
Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
This book explores mother-daughter relationships and all the torment and joy that they can bring.
Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
This is an epic in every sense of the word: moving from Vancouver in 1991 to 50 brutal years in China.
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet
The breakout author book didn’t get widely reviewed on its release, but it sure as heck will now! This irresistible and original story reminds us of the provisional nature of truth, even when the facts seem clear.
Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh
It’s creepy with hints of Hitchcock and the sign of major, major writing talent.
All That Man Is by David Szalay
Composed of nine separate stories, this was a big hit with critics when it was released in April slowly moving through different characters all slightly older than the one before.
