The Int'l IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2007

The winning title: "Out Stealing Horses"

The winner of the 12th International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award (2007), the world's richest literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English, was announced last week in the Irish capital's City Hall by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Vincent Jackson.

"Out Stealing Horses" by Norwegian author Per Petterson (Harvill Secher) outstripped the other runners to come in first. The book was translated from the original Norwegian into English by Anne Born, who received a quarter of the ¤100,000 (Bt4.36 million) first prize, the remaining ¤75,000 going to Petterson.

The cheque for the hefty sum was handed to Petterson by the chairperson of IMPAC, Miroslav Palas, and a specially commissioned Waterford Crystal trophy was presented by the lord mayor.

The International panel of judges chose "Out Stealing Horses" from a shortlist of eight novels by internationally recognised authors such as Salman Rushdie, JM Coetzee and Cormac McCarthy.

The IMPAC award is unique as the original nominations are made by public libraries worldwide. The eight shortlisted titles were selected from a longlist of 138, nominated by 169 libraries from 49 countries and 129 cities; 28 titles were in translation, covering 15 non-English languages.

The prize-winning plot

In 1948, 15-year-old Trond spends a summer in the country with his father. The events that follow - the accidental death of a child, his best friend's feelings of guilt and eventual disappearance, his father's decision to leave the family for another woman - will change his life forever. An early morning adventure out stealing horses leaves Trond bruised and puzzled by his friend Jon's sudden breakdown. The tragedy which lies behind this scene becomes the catalyst for the two boys' families gradually to fall apart.

Years later, following the death of his wife, Trond, now 67, moves to an isolated part of Norway to live in solitude. But a chance encounter with a character from the fateful summer of his youth brings the painful memories of that year flooding back and leaves Trond even more convinced of his decision to end his days alone

Published on Jun 24, 2007 .

The Nation