Andriy Kurkov entered the long list of the Booker Prize for the second time

On Monday, March 11, the Booker Prize International announced the long list of contenders for the award in 2024. A Ukrainian writer got to him Andriy Kurkov and his novel “Samson and Hope”.

The longlist of 13 editions was published on the official website of the award.

Kurkov’s book qualifies for an award in the English translation made Boris Dralyuk.

“Imbued with Kurkov’s signature humor and magical realism, The Silver Bone creates a compelling narrative that comes alive with rich historical detail“, says the description of the book on the award’s website.

The action of the historical detective Kurkov takes place in Kyiv in 1919, when the city is under the control of the Soviet authorities. The father of the main character, Samson Kolechko, is killed during a street pogrom, and his own ear is cut off. By a coincidence of strange circumstances, he is taken to the police service – and here he begins to investigate the crimes of the Red Army.

Booker Prize 2024 longlist:

• Not a River (“Not a river”) Selva Almada (Argentina)
• Simpatía (“Sympathy”) Rodrigo Blanco Calderon (Venezuela)
• Kairos (“Kairos”) Jenny Erpenbeck (Germany)
• The Details (“Details“) And I Henberg (Sweden)
• White Nights (“white at night“) Ursula Race (Poland)
• Mater 2-10 (“Mater 2-10”) Hwang Seokyeon (South Korea)
• A Dictator Calls (“Dictator’s Calls”) Ismail Kadare (Albania)
• The Silver Bone (“Samson and Hope”) Andriy Kurkov (Ukraine)
• What I‘d Rather Not Think About (“Things I’d Rather Not Think About”) Gente Postuma (Netherlands)
• Lost he Me (“Lost in me”) Veronica Raymo (Italy)
• The House he Via Gemito (“The House on Via Gemito”) Domenico Starnone (Italy)
• Crooked Plow (“Crooked Plow”) Itamar Vieira Jr. (Brazil)
• Undiscovered (“Undiscovered”) Gabriela Wiener (Peru)

The nominees were chosen by a professional jury headed by the Canadian writer and presenter Eleonora Wachtel. It also included the South African artist William Kentridge, the Pulitzer Prize winner Natalie Diaz, the British writer and Booker nominee Romesh Guneseker, and the translator from Italian Aaron Robertson.

The International Booker Prize – one of the most prestigious book awards. Awarded annually for the best literary works translated into English.

The prize is 50,000 pounds sterling, which is shared equally between the author and the translator.

The 2024 Booker Prize shortlist of six books will be announced on 9 April 2024. And the winner will be announced at the ceremony on May 21, 2024.