Man Asian Literary Prize 2010 Shortlist Announced

The five books shortlisted for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize have been announced in Hong Kong.

Writers from Japan, China and India make up the shortlist for this year’s Man Asian Literary Prize. The five shortlisted books were announced Feb. 15 in Hong Kong. Among their number is Kenzaburo Oe , winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature. Also honoured on the shortlist is Mumbai-based Manu Joseph for his debut novel, Serious Men. Joseph has also been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in the South Asia and Europe Best First Book category.

2010 Man Asian Literary Prize Shortlist

• Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu
• Serious Men by Manu Joseph
• The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
• The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe
• Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa

The highly regarded judges for the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize are Monica Ali, Homi K. Bhabha and Hsu-Ming Teo. In making the shortlist announcement, Professor David Parker, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Man Asian Literary Prize said ‘Our judges have chosen five very different novels, each in its own way brilliant and captivating, representing the achievements of three major Asian cultures: China, India and Japan. Readers everywhere now have the opportunity to enjoy and compare the high and distinctive accomplishments of the novel across the breadth of Asia.’

Fifty-four works were entered submitted for entry in the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize. The diversity of the literary on offer by writers from Asia is reflected in the shortlist. From the comedy of manners offered in Joseph’s debut, to the dark, poetic prose of Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa.

The Man Asian Literary Prize was first awarded in 2007 and is the awarded to the best novel by an Asian writer either written in English or available in English translation. In order be eligible authors must be a citizen of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, The Hong Kong or Macau Special Administrative Regions, The Maldives, The People’s Republic of China or Vietnam. The past winners of the Man Asian Literary Prize are: Su Tong for The Boat to Redemption (2009), Miguel Syjuco for Ilustrado (2008) and Jiang Rong for Wolf Totem (2007).

The Man Asian Literary Prize 2010 Judges Comments

Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu

A moving exploration of Chinese family and village life during the Cultural Revolution, that moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate, the heroic and the petty, illuminating not only individual lives but an entire society, within a gripping tale of familial conflict and love.

Serious Men by Manu Joseph

A seriously funny, ingenious novel, part satire, part comedy of manners, and an intelligent commentary on both Dalit-Brahmin issues and academic science.

The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair

Crossing continents and centuries, Khair's inventive multiple narrative subtly subverts expectation and post-colonial narrative traditions by simultaneously echoing Dickens's London and inserting a totally fresh voice at its centre.

The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe

A richly complex work that centres on a tale of brotherhood and loss, and plunges deep into the nature of artistic desire and ambition, at once questioning every impulse and yet remaining stunningly assured.

Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa

In beautifully sparse elegant prose, Ogawa lays bare the dark side of intimacy, the nature of obsession and the indefinable qualities of what bonds one human being with another.

2010 Man Asian Literary Prize Longlist

These five shortlisted works were selected from a longlist of ten. The longlisted works which missed out on the shortlist were:

• Way to Go by Upamanyu Chatterjee
• Dahanu Road by Anosh Irani
• Tiger Hills by Sarita Mandanna
• Monkey-man by Usha K.R.
• Below the Crying Mountain by Criselda Yabes

This article first appeared HERE.