LONDON 鈥� Chinese writer Can Xue and Kenyan author Ngugi wa Thiong鈥檕, both
Can Xue鈥檚 鈥淚 Live in the Slums鈥� and Ngugi鈥檚 鈥淭he Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gikuyu and Mumbi鈥� are among 13 books on the long list for the 50,000 pound ($69,000) prize.
The list announced Tuesday features works from four continents, including 鈥淭he War of the Poor鈥� by France鈥檚 Eric Vuillard, 鈥淚n Memory of Memory鈥� by Russian writer Maria Stepanova, 鈥淭he Dangers of Smoking in Bed鈥� by Argentina鈥檚 Mariana Enriquez and 鈥淢inor Detail鈥� by Palestinian author Adania Shibli.
Writer Lucy Hughes-Hallett, who heads the judging panel, said a theme of many of the books was 鈥渕igration -- the pain of it, but also the fruitful interconnectedness of the modern world.鈥�
The six finalists are set to be revealed on April 22 and the winner on June 2.
The International Booker Prize is awarded every year to a book of fiction in any language that is translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction.
The prize money is split between the book鈥檚 author and its translator. Ngugi translated his own novel from his mother tongue, Kikuyu.
The Associated Press
