People often ask me what is the difference between the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Man Booker Prize, or rather what the difference between the Nobel Prize in Literature and the Man Booker Prize is. The short answer is about one million dollars, not forgetting the Nobel medal itself which should bring in another $10,000 dollars on the open market. So in purely monetary terms - and money is nothing if not pure - it's no contest, and a budding author might be forgiven for aiming at the Nobel. But life is never quite so simple as that. For one thing, the Nobel is open to people writing in any language whereas to win the Booker you have to write in English. That's not much of a problem these days thanks to the likes of Google Translate, but there is another difference between the two prizes which gives serious pause for thought.
The Booker is awarded for a single work of fiction while the Nobel goes to a body of work. In this and in other respects, it closely resembles a Lifetime Achievement Award in contrast to the Booker which may be compared to an Oscar for Best Actor. The truth of this observation is reflected in the fact that no-one has ever won the Nobel more than once whereas Hilary Mantel has already carried off the Booker twice. In the case of the Nobel, the unspoken assumption is that the writer's best work is behind him or her and that we need not expect to hear from them again.
Some even go so far as to say that the Nobel Prize is a polite way of telling writers to pack it in.
The Booker is awarded for a single work of fiction while the Nobel goes to a body of work. In this and in other respects, it closely resembles a Lifetime Achievement Award in contrast to the Booker which may be compared to an Oscar for Best Actor. The truth of this observation is reflected in the fact that no-one has ever won the Nobel more than once whereas Hilary Mantel has already carried off the Booker twice. In the case of the Nobel, the unspoken assumption is that the writer's best work is behind him or her and that we need not expect to hear from them again.
Some even go so far as to say that the Nobel Prize is a polite way of telling writers to pack it in.
These people constantly canvassing your viewpoints...............do they approach you in the street, write, phone or simply emerge?
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Perplexed of Perpignon
Dear Perplexed of Perpignon (or I suppose you mean Perpignan?): they mostly approach me on the street where I live but also in Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire.
DeleteGreetings Barnaby
ReplyDeleteV. interesting post if I may say so.
The Nobel prize for literature I have no quarrel with possibly because my reading is often more mundane than the works great novelists and writers place before us.
However why President Obahma won the Nobel Peace Prize was and is beyond my ken. Presumably some as you might suggest:
"even go so far as to say that the Nobel Prize is a polite way of telling (writers) politicians to pack it in".
Hello Jerry. In england at the moment! I think Obama's big mistake was to ACCEPT the Nobel Prize. Poor fellow, he never asked for it, but he should have turned it down.
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