Who will win this year´s Nobel for Literature?

Answer 1

Any answer to this good question would have to be a guess. Before long, we'll know--maybe even before you read this answer.

Often the winners are authors American readers have hardly heard of, sometimes because their works are not readily available in English. On the other hand, a few major and highly respected authors, over the years, have been conspicuous by their absence from the list; for example, Graham Greene, James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Leo Tolstoy, and Jorge Luis Borges, all of which are incredible omissions.

So who will win this year? The prospects mentioned by jclog are certainly in the running? I suspect there will be interest in naming someone from the Middle East this year; hence, maybe the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk or the Syrian/Lebanese poet Adonis.

I know who I wish would win: Salman Rushdie. If he had written no other books than Midnight's Children, he would stand as one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, but he has written others as well as criticism, nonfiction, and even children's literature of merit. However, all the furor over Satanic Verses probably strikes fear into the Nobel academy's heart. And, if he were to win, he would probably just go right back on a death list. So maybe we'd better hope that he does not receive the award!

(By the way, it's interesting that at this point you have received 34 responses in Spanish and only five in English, isn't it? I certainly could rejoice if Vargas won.)

Answer 2

Well, the top contenders seem to be Ko Un (Korean poet - he was short-listed in 2002 and 2004), Haruki Murakami (Japanese writer and novelist), Orhan Pamuk (Turkish novelist), Ryszard Kapuscinski (Polish journalist and author) and Adonis (Syrian-Lebanese poet).

As usual, there are few women in the "contenders" lists, though Joyce Carol Oates and Margaret Atwood have been mentioned. I'd love to see Atwood get the Nobel, but my money would be on Pamuk.

Answer 3

Pramoedya Ananta Toer of Indonesia. He has written numerous titles of the human condition subject to oppression. He himself was in prison for his writings and beliefs under the Dutch colonial powers, and two subsequent Indonesian governments. Pramoedya died April 30 2006. He was 80.

Answer 4

perhaps, Rushdie. However, in noting , in my opinion the most glaring omission: Heinrick Ibsen, especially as he was Norwegian. It does have to do with selection process itself, not always the body of work, as it is specified, but the last book written. Faulkner was a laurette with perhaps his weakst book. Well, its only a human organization.

Answer 5

Nobody knows... The academy works completely mysterious. Here are some guesses:

Answer 6

the writers of "the Onion"