Geetanjali Shree’s Book ‘Tomb Of Sand’ Becomes First Hindi Literary Work To Be On The Booker Prize Shortlist
The Booker Prize is one of the most anticipated literary awards and as an avid reader, I most definitely look forward to them. These awards expose me to the finer literature of the world that I would otherwise not come across. The panel has announced the list of its shortlisted authors for this year. And it is with pride that I share that a Hindi book Ret Samadhi, by Indian author Geetanjali Shree, has been translated into English as Tomb Of Sand has also secured a spot on this list. This is the first Hindi language fictional literary work to have made it to the list and this makes me so happy!
First Hindi Language Book Makes It To The Booker Prize List
Geetanjali Shree’s book has been translated into English by Daisy Rockwell. It revolves around an 80-year-old woman who goes into depression after her husband’s death. She insists on going to Pakistan to resolve the trauma she experienced during the Partition and to get a deeper meaning of what it means to be “a mother, a daughter, a woman, a feminist.” Other notable works by Geetanjali Shree are Mai, Bel Patra and Hans.
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The winner of The Booker Prize will be awarded 50,000 pounds cash prize which will be split between the author and the translated. The awards aim to promote more translated works and also encourage the important role the translators play.
This year, along with Geetanjali Shree, the list predominantly has notable women authors’ fictional works shortlisted for the prestigious literary honour. Take a look at The Booker Prize Shortlist below:
We are delighted to announce the #2022InternationalBooker Shortlist! Congratulations to all six sets of authors and translators. Click here to read more about the six shortlisted books and the people who created them: https://t.co/VBBrTmfNIH #shortlist pic.twitter.com/tPTRVy62Jy
— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) April 7, 2022
- A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse, translated by Damion Searls from Norwegian
- Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated by Anton Hur from Korean
- Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Samuel Bett and David Boyd from Japanese
- Elena Knows by Claudia Pineiro, translated by Frances Riddle from Spanish
- Tomb Of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated by Daisy Rockwell from Hindi
- The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft from Polish
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It makes me so happy to see the works by women getting international recognition. Congratulations to all! And we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Geetanjali Shree to win!
