Polish novelist, Olga Tokarczuk, become the first Polish writer to win Man Booker International prize for fiction.
Tokarczuk with her translator Jennifer Croft have won £50,000 prize for an English translation of the novel „Flights”. Head judge Lisa Appignanesi said: „Tokarczuk is a writer of wonderful wit, imagination and literary panache. I think picking up 'Flights’ will be an experience for anyone”.
Tokarczuk’s novel combines tales about travel with explorations of the human body. „We loved the voice of the narrative – it’s one that moves from wit and gleeful mischief to real emotional texture and has the ability to create character very quickly, with interesting digression and speculation” – said Appignanesi. For the 2018 award more than 100 novels were submitted.
In a press release, the Man Booker International describes „Flights”, as „a novel of linked fragments from the 17th century to the present day, connected by themes of travel and human anatomy”.