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The German Book Prize
Rebecca Morrison reports on a welcome newcomer. There was a generally upbeat mood to the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, and this in spite of the sobering reality of the challenges, both new and ongoing, facing the book business, nationally and internationally. There seemed to be a new spring in visitors’ steps, and a new name on their lips too: ‘Have you heard who’s won?’ ‘Ah, he’s so personable!’ ‘Wonderful news for Austria!’ ‘I thought that…’ ‘Have you read…?’ The name, of course, was the German Book Prize. Its triumphant debut – as it was generally deemed – was due, in the first place, to the carefully laid groundwork. The research into the fine mechanics of the British Booker and French Prix Goncourt, the gradual building of expectations – first the announcement of the names of the jury members (selected by the eleven-strong Book Prize Academy, made up of representatives from the book industry, the arts and co-sponsors of the prize), then the long-list (satisfyingly diverse and not without surprises), to the eventual narrowing to a shortlist of six, after much impassioned debate, according to jury spokesman and seasoned author Bodo Kirchhoff – seemed to have succeeded. There was the honour, of course. But along with the honour came the cash – 25 000 Euros for the winner, 2 500 for the five runners-up. The result was announced and the prize was awarded on 17 October, 2005, the opening evening of the Book Fair. The winner was the Austrian writer Arno Geiger for Uns geht es gut (‘We’re Doing Fine’), an elegant and accomplished family saga set in Vienna. The debate that ensued in the newspapers, and among readers in general, proved that here was a prize worth debating, one to be taken seriously. In a country – or rather, countries – awash with prizes, scholarships and grants of every description, was it necessary to have yet another? Yes, it was. On two fronts. Firstly, here was an award so specifically dedicated to the novel and – welcome change! – one with a short and easily identifiable title – a much needed way of helping the international market to orientate itself around the confusing welter of German-language books. Secondly, and quite simply, because the prize was a celebration of the German-language novel itself. To talk of a rebirth is pitching it too strongly perhaps: there have of course always been fine writers of the highest literary calibre in the German-speaking lands. And yet, in spite of the miserable state of the German economy which is undoubtedly making itself felt in the German publishing houses – and beyond them gradually in the closely-related markets of Austria and Switzerland – there is a wonderful breadth in subject, style, daringness, in the German-language novel at the moment, and it is high time that this was celebrated. The prize is sponsored by the German Booksellers Association which in turn has four principal backers: Dr. Florian and Gabriele Langenscheidt (of the Langenscheidt dictionaries), the SPIEGEL-Verlag, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the City of Frankfurt-am-Main. The jury, which will change each year, consisted of two literary critics, one TV literary editor, one bookseller, and two authors. Their daunting task was to select the best novel of the year, whittling down from 150 serious contenders to twenty, and then to six. The jury prefaced their choice by saying: ‘These are novels about life, about the loss of love and the passing of time, extraordinary books, unafraid of risk; novels of acute observation and unique voice.’ They brought us a rich clutch: from the marvellously entertaining novel about Alexander von Humboldt by Daniel Kehlmann (to be published in New York by Alfred A. Knopf), to the edgy, provocative autobiographical novel by Gila Lustiger; from the long-awaited account of life with the Austrian poet Ernst Jandl by the equally renowned Friederike Mayröcker, to the brave experiment by Thomas Lehr; from the finely-drawn, refreshing take on post-war Austria by Arno Geiger – incidentally, a return to the family saga as one of the best tools for examining history which is experiencing a resurgence in German-language writing – to the masterly style of Gert Loschütz. Both the large houses and some smaller ones, such as the Frankfurter Verlagsanstalt, and newcomer Blumenbar Verlag in Munich, were among the publishers. So now the Germans, the Austrians and the Swiss have their prize to stand alongside the Goncourt and the Booker, and this is welcome for one further reason: it will, one hopes, play its part in redressing the balance between the huge conglomerates and the achievements of the smaller, still independent houses. It’s a breath of fresh air for everyone involved, from the authors to the booksellers to the publishers – and it sends a clear message internationally: German-language novels are something be proud of and to celebrate.
We hope you enjoy our selection from the
2005 long-list and shortlist – others were
reviewed in the Autumn issue of nbg.
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