Monday, 4 October 2010

German Book Prize to Swiss-Serbian Novel

After a long, slightly annoying ceremony, they have now announced it.

The winner is (my heart is pounding):

Melinda Nadj Abonji for Tauben fliegen auf.

Goodness me. I hadn't been expecting that.

3 comments:

Susan Bernofsky said...

Have you read it? What do you think?

kjd said...

No, I haven't read it, only the extract, which I didn't find particularly inspiring. It felt a little like Alina Bronski in that "young girl from the wilds of Eastern Europe" manner, but more sophisticated.

I liked Abonji's speech, which was very political. And I love the fact that an indie publisher has actually won for the first time. And I suppose that a "migrant" has won, although I'm trying to keep blinkers on about that kind of thing.

But I'm still a bit heartbroken for my two personal favourites, which I felt were simply more interestingly written.

On the other hand it's certainly a commercially viable choice of a more easily readable, positive book.

And now I'm going out.

Enrique G de la G said...

Hey! I like your blog a lot but I had never commented before. Now I'll do it, since everything related to former Yugoslavia has a special meaning for me.

A friend of mine from Serbia just moved a couple of months ago to Zürich, I sent her the review of the novel and this is her answer :-)

"This is a story anyone from former Yugoslavia can tell you. If I stay long enough here, maybe I will feel the same :)"

Cheers, keep rocking!

Grüsse aus PrenzlBerg!