Hebrew fiction wins Man Booker International Prize

CAIRO- 15 June 2017: Hebrew fiction novel, a Horse Walks into a Bar, by Israeli author David Grossman won the Man Booker International Prize on Wednesday.

The prize awards the translator and the winning author £50,000 ($63,700), according to a statement released by The Man Booker International Prize official website.

The novel revolves around an offensive comedian called Dovaleh Greenstein in the small town of Netanya, Israel, during the opening of a set in a comedy club.

Further exploring the ability of being creative and creating effective output from constant pains in life, the novel managed to deliver a stunning performance through a one-night engagement, according to GoodReads.

Luke Ellis the CEO of Man Group stated that the Man Booker International Prize embraces depth of global writing talent, recognizes contributions of translations, and opens up avenues for authors.

He further expressed his honor to sponsor the prize and announced his support of literature through the Booker Prize Foundation charitable activities that help young writers and readers to access books easily.

Categorized as a bestseller Israeli fiction writer, Grossman is known for writing children’s literature which has been translated to 36 languages. Selected among 126 books a Horse Walks into a Bar was also recognized at the International Book Festival in 2017.

Nick Barley chair of the 2017 judging panel of the International Book Festival stated that the novel depicts grief without sentiments and was able to introduce emotional and stylistic risks through every word within the book.

The first Israeli to win the prize, Grossman has received several awards including the Buxtehuder Bulle in Germany, Premio per la Pace e l’ Azione Umanitaria award in Rome, the Frankfurt Prize and the Israeli Emet Prize among others.