Omani author Jokha Alharthi wins the Man Booker International Prize



[ad_1]


Omani author Jokha Alharthi is the winner of the Man Booker 2019 International Prize for her novel Celestial Bodies the jury announced Tuesday. The book tells the story of the transition to adulthood of three sisters in an Omani village and was originally published in Arabic.

At a ceremony in London, Bettany Hughes, chairman of the jury, described the novel as "a book to conquer at the head and heart".

The author's style is marked by "subtle resistances to clichés of race, slavery and gender," added Hughes.

The prestigious International Man Booker Award is aimed at writers off English-speaking areas, which is a counterpart to the Man Booker prize for English-language novels, and the financial reward of £ 50,000 will be shared by Alharthi and her translator Marilyn Booth.

Alharthi is the first woman writer in the world. Oman to be translated into English Its latest success also makes it the first Arab author to win the Man Booker International Prize.

History of Slavery

The Bodies Celestials are also interested about the subject of slavery in Oman, which was outlawed only in 1970.

"This is a sensitive subject and a kind of taboo Said Alharthi in an interview on sc no. "But I think that literature is the best platform to discuss sensitive issues. And slavery is not exclusive to Oman, it's part of human history. "

" I am delighted that a window has been opened on the rich Arab culture, "she told reporters.

The 40-year-old teacher had studied Arabic poetry and clbadical Arabic literature in Edinburgh before returning to Oman to teach at Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat.His works include three other novels, two children's books and several collections of short stories.

This article was written in was originally published on Deutsche Welle.

[ad_2]
Source link