“The mishap of the evening”, written by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchison, is the winner of the International Booker Prize 2020, announced at a digital event on Wednesday.
Chosen from a shortlist of six books, Rijneveld’s “The Discomfort of the Evening” tells the story of Jas, who has a unique way of experiencing the world, and her pious peasant family who live in a strictly Christian community. the countryside of the Netherlands in the aftermath of a tragic accident.
A bestseller in the Netherlands called Kirkus Reviews the novel “striking” and that Rijneveld’s “extraordinary” narrator “describes a small world of pain that is difficult to see and harder to ignore.”
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At 29, Rijneveld is the youngest author to win the International Booker Prize, and “The Discomfort of the Evening” is her debut novel. They have also published the poetry collection “Kalfskin”.
Hutchison’s other translations include “An American Princess” by Annejet van der Zijl, “Mona in Three Acts” by Griet op de Beeck and “Seaweed” by Miek Zwamborn. She is also co-author of “The Happiest Children in the World.”
Judge Ted Hodgkinson, in a statement, said in a statement: “‘We set ourselves an incredible task in selecting a winner from our wonderful shortlist, full of fiction bold enough to raise mythical foundations and the banks of the novel itself Combining a disarmament of new sensibilities with a translation of solitary sensibilities, “The Discomfort of the Evening” is a tender and intricate evocation of a childhood caught between shame and salvation, and a deeply deserving winner of The 2020 International Booker Prize. ‘
On Twitter, author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld exclaimed “We Won”, while translator Michele Hutchison tweeted thanking Rijneveld “her repeated voices of confidence and kindness in sharing the prize with me.”
The International Book Prize is awarded every year for one book that is translated into English and published in the United Kingdom and Ireland, and the contributions of both the author and the translator receive equal recognition. The prize of £ 50,000 is divided between Rijneveld and Hutchison.
The novel was released on August 18 in the United States.
