Nobel Prize for Literature 2019

Monty Pigeon

Striker
Peter Handke, an Austrian writer known for his far-right sympathies and has been accused of being a fascist.

The Nobel Prize got suspended last year after scandals involving the judges (one of whom is now in prison for rape). Somehow I don't think giving the prize to a writer who read the eulogy at Slobodan Milosevic's funeral is going to settle things down.
 


Looks like they've given two (to include last year) with Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk also getting a prize. Lookslike they've gone for a leftish award (Tokarczuk is disliked by the right wing Law and Justice party in Poland) and a right wing award.
 
Looks like they've given two (to include last year) with Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk also getting a prize. Lookslike they've gone for a leftish award (Tokarczuk is disliked by the right wing Law and Justice party in Poland) and a right wing award.

Tokarczuk is entirely to the brief they set themselves to broaden the diversity of the award (I've got her book Flights - I suppose I'd better read it now). I can't begin to think why they then went for Handke. They declared they wanted to make the award less male and less Eurocentric, and then went for a white European male with fascist sympathies. So much for putting a lid on the controversy - I'm certain there will be demonstrations at the ceremony.

Personally I think they should have looked to Japan (Murakami undoubtedly deserves the award) or to Australia - there has never been an Australian born winner of the prize (Patrick White, the only Australian winner, was born in London).
 
Tokarczuk is entirely to the brief they set themselves to broaden the diversity of the award (I've got her book Flights - I suppose I'd better read it now). I can't begin to think why they then went for Handke. They declared they wanted to make the award less male and less Eurocentric, and then went for a white European male with fascist sympathies. So much for putting a lid on the controversy - I'm certain there will be demonstrations at the ceremony.

Personally I think they should have looked to Japan (Murakami undoubtedly deserves the award) or to Australia - there has never been an Australian born winner of the prize (Patrick White, the only Australian winner, was born in London).
I’d agree if it was a reward for most over-rated author of the contemporary era. Wind-up Bird Chronicles is one of the worst things I've ever read.
 

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