Orhan Pamuk nominated for Man Booker International Prize

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk has been nominated for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize for his novel “Kafamda Bir Tuhaflık” (A Strangeness in My Mind). 

The prize celebrates the best in global fiction, with 13 books in contention. The longlist for the prize included books from 155 writers 12 different countries in nine different languages. 

Pamuk describes the story of his 480-page book as “both an epic and a modern love story.”

“I spent six years with the protagonist, Mevlüt, in my mind. He sells boza, a popular fermented beverage in Turkey, on Istanbul’s streets between 1969 and 2012. The novel tells the story of the city’s development, newcomers and daily life of Istanbul,” he has said.

Also included on the shortlist of 13 books are Japanese writer Kenzaburō Ōe’s “Death by Water,” Italian author Elena Ferrante’s “The Story of the Lost Child,” South Korean writer Han Kang’s “The Vegetarian,” Indonesian author Eka Kurniawan’s “Man Tiger” and Chinese author Yan Lianke’s “The Four Books.” The latter title its author 20 years to plan and two to write and was rejected by 20 publishers for its political content before being banned in mainland China.

Also on the list are Brazilian author Raduan Nassar’s “A Cup of Rage,” Austrian author Robert Seethaler’s “A Whole Life,” and Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa’s “A General Theory of Oblivion.” Two French authors, Marie NDiaye and Maylis de Kerangal are listed for their novels “Ladivine” and “Mend the Living” respectively. Debut authors on list include Aki Ollikainen from Finland and Fiston Mwanza Mujila from the Democratic Republic of Congo for their novels “White Hunger” and “Tram 83” respectively.

The £50,000 prize will be divided equally between the writer of the winning book and its translator.

The judges will announce a further shortlist of six books on April 14, with the winner announced on May 16 at a formal dinner at the Victoria and Albert Museum.