"Ship Fever and Other Stories," a collection weaving tales of fictional and historical 19th-century figures, triumphed over four other finalists this past week to win the publishing industry's equivalent of the Oscars, the National Book Award for fiction.
Despite earlier grumbling from publishers about the obscurity of some of the fiction choices this year, a judging panel of writers settled on Andrea Barrett, who described herself as truly "surprised" before reading a short statement praising the other finalists and the people who had supported her effort to write "Ship Fever."The awards drew more than 600 people in the publishing industry to the Waldorf Astoria, which was the largest turnout in the competition's history. The awards, founded in 1950, are sponsored by the nonprofit National Book Foundation.
Barrett, the author of four novels, was praised by a judging panel as a writer of feeling who had created "that rare collection whose breadth and detail fulfills one of art's great claims: It defies mortality."
In the nonfiction category, James Carroll won the award for "An American Requiem: God, My Father, and the War That Came Between Us," a story about his family's fierce disagreements over the Vietnam War. Judges praised the book as a "flawlessly executed memoir" that recounted the author's agony and his father's disillusionment.
The prize in in the poetry category was awarded to Hayden Carruth for his collection of poems, "Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey, 1991-1995." Victor Martinez, the author of "Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida," won honors in the newly created competition for young people's literature.
The awards carry $10,000 prizes and are given each year by U.S. citizens who were published in the past 12 months in the United States.
Toni Morrison, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature and author of "Beloved," "Jazz" and "Song of Solomon" received the 1996 National Book Foundation Medal for her contribution to American letters. Morrison herself was a two-time finalist for National Book Awards.
- IN LONDON, "Last Orders," Graham Swift's novel about a journey to Kent by four Londoners to fulfill a friend's dying wish by scattering his ashes into the sea, has won the 1996 Booker Prize, Britain's most prestigious literary award.
The prize, which comes with a tax-free check for $35,000 and guarantees increased exposure and increased sales for the winner, was most remarkable this year for being free of the controversy that has characterized recent Booker awards. Swift's novel triumphed over five other books, all of which had been warmly received by the critics, embraced (to various degrees) by the book-buying public and considered by literary commentators to be reasonable contenders for the top prize.
"Last Orders," which plumbs the lives of the four men as they fulfill their friend's wish, drew nearly universal praise when it was issued. (It is published by Knopf in the United States.) It is the second Swift novel to appear on the Booker short-list; in 1983, "Waterland" was nominated but did not win the award.
The Booker Prize, presented at a black-tie dinner, is awarded each year to a novel written by a citizen of Britain, one of the other Commonwealth countries or Ireland. it is considered so important that the BBC provides live television coverage of the announcement, complete with a panel of literary experts who comment on the proceedings.