American Paul Beatty wins prestigious Man Booker prize – Voice of America

The american writer Paul Beatty, won the prestigious Man Booker prize for his book “The Sellout”, a scathing satire on race relations in his country.

Amanda Foreman, the president of the five judges who determine the award and that awarded to the winner 50,000 pounds sterling, about $ us $ 60,900, said that the work of Beatty was a unanimous decision taken after four hours of deliberation.

“it Penetrates into the heart of contemporary american society with a wit absolutely brutal of the kind that we have not seen since (Jonathan) Swift (or Mark Twain,” said Foreman.

“Manages to expose all the nuances of social, all the sacred cows, the time that makes us laugh and makes us shudder…It’s really a novel for our times,” he added.

“The Sellout” tells the story of “Bonbon”, an african-american who tries to make stand out to your community of California, of which he has been officially removed, reintroducing slavery and segregation in the local high school.

The novel 289 pages, begins with “Bonbon” at a hearing of the Supreme Court, which reviews what has happened up to that point.

The language is raw and may offend some readers. In the same way part of the content when Beatty makes a mockery of racial stereotypes, as when an old black actor asks to become a slave of “Bonbon”.

The father of the protagonist is unjustly shot by the police.

“Paul Beatty has been said that to be offended is not an emotion. That is your response to the reader,” said Foreman.

“This is really a piece of serious literature of first-class wrapped in a pañolón of humor”, he added.

“The Sellout” is the fourth novel from the writer of 54 years. The author has also edited an anthology of humor african-american.

The award to Beatty is the second award Man Booker for the publisher, Oneworld. The honor of 2015, won the jamaican Marlon James for his novel “A Brief History of Seven Killings,” also published by Oneworld.

in Addition to the £ 50,000 that come with the jackpot, each one of the six authors finalists will receive 2,500 pounds sterling.

Win the award Man Booker has a great impact on the sales and reach of an author.

In the 48 year history of the honor, the prize has been awarded to writers such as Salman Rushdie, Hilary Mantel and Margaret Atwood.

three years Ago, the rules were changed to cover any novel written in English, regardless of the nationality of the writer or if it is published in Great Britain. Previously only given to the authors of the United Kingdom.

Since January, the judges have read 155 novels before deciding on a list of 13, and then another six, of which they choose the winner.

Among the finalists this year were two britons, a british-born Canadian, a canadian and two americans.

With information from Reuters