Senegal's Mohamed Mbougar Sarr Wins France's Goncourt Prize
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr of Senegal was named the winner of France's most prestigious literary award, the Goncourt Prize.
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr of Senegal was named the winner of France's most prestigious literary award, the Goncourt Prize, for his novel La Plus Secrète Mémoire des Hommes (The Most Secret Memory of Men).
Among the nominees, the 31-year-old author was the critics' favorite. "I feel so much joy", he said at the restaurant where the awards were announced.
Mbougar Sarr's winning novel is his fifth, and he was praised for his style of writing and for his choice of mysterious characters.
Mbougar Sarr, son of a Senegalese doctor, has been studying African literature at a French university and is the first sub-Saharan African to win the award.
"With this young author, we have returned to the fundamentals of the Goncourt," said the Goncourt Academy's Secretary-General Philippe Claudel, noting that more works could be expected from the young winner.
Goncourt President Didier Decoin said he read Mbougar Sarr's work in one sitting, calling it "a hymn to literature."
It took only one round of voting by the 10-member jury to crown Mbougar Sarr as the winner. Although he will take home a symbolic €10 in prize money, the award usually guarantees the winner hundreds of thousands of book sales.