“The Stolen Bicycle” by Taiwan novelist Wu Ming-yi is longlisted for this year’s Man Booker International Prize, the first time for a homegrown title to earn such recognition in the 13-year history of the prestigious literary honor.
Published in 2015, the 416-page fiction centers on a writer’s search for a bicycle belonging to his father who disappeared 20 years before. Tales of chance encounters with a colorful cast of characters laced with real-life historical events provide readers with a page-turning take on Taiwan’s culture, past and people.
Wu said in a Facebook post March 12 that he is deeply grateful for the longlisting of his third novel and will strive to produce more quality works. He also credited the invaluable contributions of translator Darryl Sterk, Taipei City-based Rye Field Publishing Co. and Melbourne headquartered The Text Publishing Co., and literary representatives Grayhawk Agency in Taipei.
The Man Booker recognition is the latest in a series of accolades for the 46-year-old Wu. His second novel “The Man with Compound Eyes” was the first from Taiwan to win the French International Insular Book Award in 2014, and have its global English rights acquired by Harvill Secker—a London-based subsidiary of publishing giant Penguin Random House—in 2011.
Established in 2005, the biannual international prize is a leading literary award for outstanding non-English novels or short story collections from around the world. The 12 other titles vying for prize money of 50,000 pounds (US$69,445) include “Flights” by Poland’s Olga Tokarczuk, “Like a Fading Shadow” by Spain’s Antonio Munoz Molina and “The White Book” by South Korea’s Han Kang, winner of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016.
According to U.K.-based organizer Booker Prize Foundation, this year’s semifinalists were selected from a 108-strong field. The shortlist comprising six titles will be announced April 12, with the winner unveiled May 22 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. (CPY-E)
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