LONDON (AP) 鈥� Writer Shehan Karunatilaka won the prestigious Booker Prize for fiction on Monday for 鈥淭he Seven Moons of Maali Almeida,鈥� a satirical 鈥渁fterlife noir鈥� set during Sri Lanka鈥檚 brutal civil war.
Karunatilaka, one of Sri Lanka鈥檚 leading authors, won the 50,000 pound ($57,000) award for his second novel. The 47-year-old, who has also written journalism, children鈥檚 books, screenplays and rock songs, is the second Sri Lanka-born Booker Prize winner, after Michael Ondaatje, who took the trophy in 1992 for 鈥淭he English Patient.鈥�
Karunatilaka received the award from Camilla, Britain's queen consort, during a ceremony at London鈥檚 Roundhouse concert hall.
The judges鈥� unanimous choice, 鈥淭he Seven Moons of Maali Almeida鈥� is the darkly humorous story about a murdered war photographer investigating his death and trying to ensure his life's legacy.
Karunatilaka said Sri Lankans 鈥渟pecialize in gallows humor and make jokes in the face of crises鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 our coping mechanism,鈥� he said, and expressed hope that his novel about war and ethnic division would one day be 鈥渋n the fantasy section of the bookshop.鈥�
Former British Museum director Neil MacGregor, who chaired the judging panel, said judges chose the book for 鈥渢he ambition, the scope and the skill, the daring, the audacity and the hilarity of the execution.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a book that takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through life and death, right to what the author describes as the dark heart of the world,鈥� MacGregor said. 鈥淎nd there the reader finds to their surprise, joy, tenderness, love and loyalty.鈥�
The winner was chosen over five other finalists: American authors Percival Everett for 鈥淭he Trees鈥� and Elizabeth Strout for 鈥淥h William!鈥�; 鈥淕lory鈥� by Zimbabwe鈥檚 NoViolet Bulawayo; Irish writer Claire Keegan鈥檚 鈥淪mall Things Like These;鈥� and 鈥淭reacle Walker鈥� by British writer Alan Garner.
Karunatilaka paid tribute to his fellow authors on the 13-book longlist and six-book shortlist for the prize.
鈥淚t's been a hell of a ride, and I've been expecting to get off at each stop,鈥� he said.
The five-member jury read 170 novels before choosing a winner. MacGregor said all the books explored the actions of individuals in a world 鈥渨here fixed points are moving, disintegrating.鈥�
He said 鈥渨hat鈥檚 striking in all of them is the weight of history鈥� 鈥� from the legacy of racism in the United States to colonialism and repression in Zimbabwe 鈥� and how that shapes the choices and actions of individuals.
鈥淗istory as a player in contemporary politics is, I think, one of the things that emerges from most of the shortlist books,鈥� MacGregor said. 鈥淲hich is hardly surprising, given the current debates about history."
鈥淎ll these books show why it (history) has to be taught, addressed and discussed 鈥� because otherwise we can鈥檛 understand the framework within which people have to make the big choices, the essential choices, of their lives,鈥� he said.
Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize has a reputation for transforming writers鈥� careers. It was originally open to British, Irish and Commonwealth writers but eligibility was expanded in 2014 to all novels in English published in the U.K.
Last year鈥檚 winner was 鈥淭he Promise,鈥� by South Africa鈥檚 Damon Galgut.
The event was the first fully in-person Booker ceremony since the pre-pandemic event in 2019 and the first for longtime literacy champion Camilla since her husband became King Charles III last month after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The event also included a speech from singer-songwriter Dua Lipa about her love of reading, and a reflection from writer Elif Shafak on what the attack on novelist Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed onstage in August, means for writers around the world.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
