The author won “the penetration of the impact of colonialism and his fate that is not compromised and loving and the fate of refugees in the bay between culture and continents.”
Prizes are given by the Swedish academy and worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($ 1.14 million). Prizes, for achievement in science, literature and peace, are made through inheritance in the will of the inventor of Swedish Dynamite and the rich businessman Alfred Nobel.
“The character finds themselves in hiatus between culture and continents, between life and a lifetime arise; it is an insecure state that can never be resolved,” the Nobel committee said in a statement.
Gurnah, born in 1948, lived in England and was known for its novels including heaven and desertion. Heaven who came out in 1944, told the story of a boy who grew up in Tanzania in the early 20th century, won a booker prize and marked his breakthrough as a novelist.
Prizes, for achievement in science, literature and peace, are made through inheritance in the will of the inventor of Swedish Dynamite and the rich businessman Alfred Nobel. They have been awarded since 1901, with the last prize in line-up – the next additional.
The past winners have become novelists such as Ernest Hemingway, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Toni Morrison, poets such as Pablo Neruda, Joseph Brodsky and Rabindranath Tagore, or script writers such as Harold Pinter and Eugene O’Neill.
But the author also wins for the body of work that includes short fiction, history, essays, biographies or journalism. Winston Churchill won for his memoir, Bertrand Russell for his philosophy and Bob Dylan for the lyrics. Last year award was won by American poets Louise Gluck.
Outside of prize money and prestige, the Nobel Literature award produced a lot of attention to the winner writer, often spurred book sales and introduced a less popular winner to the broader international public.
