France’s Modiano wins Nobel for literature
One of France's most celebrated writers, the 69-year-old greeted news of his award as ‘weird’
STOCKHOLM:
France's Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday for his enigmatic novels rooted in the trauma of the Nazi occupation and his own childhood. One of France's most celebrated writers, the 69-year-old father of two greeted news of his award as ‘weird’.
The Swedish Academy said it wanted to celebrate Modiano's "art of memory" in capturing the lives of ordinary French people living under the Nazis.
"He's a kind of Proust for our time," said Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the academy, praising a body of works that "speak to each other, that echo off each other, that are about memory, identity and seeking.
French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to his "body of work which explores the subtleties of memory and the complexity of identity". The head of Modiano's French publisher Gallimard told AFP the author was happy, and bemused by the honour. "I congratulated him and with his customary modesty he told me 'it's weird', but he was very happy," Antoine Gallimard said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.
France's Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday for his enigmatic novels rooted in the trauma of the Nazi occupation and his own childhood. One of France's most celebrated writers, the 69-year-old father of two greeted news of his award as ‘weird’.
The Swedish Academy said it wanted to celebrate Modiano's "art of memory" in capturing the lives of ordinary French people living under the Nazis.
"He's a kind of Proust for our time," said Peter Englund, permanent secretary of the academy, praising a body of works that "speak to each other, that echo off each other, that are about memory, identity and seeking.
French President Francois Hollande paid tribute to his "body of work which explores the subtleties of memory and the complexity of identity". The head of Modiano's French publisher Gallimard told AFP the author was happy, and bemused by the honour. "I congratulated him and with his customary modesty he told me 'it's weird', but he was very happy," Antoine Gallimard said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2014.