The winner of the 2011 Orange Prize was announced this week as The Tiger’s Wife by Téa Obreht.
The debut novel of the Serbian/American author, The Tiger’s Wife beat Emma Donoghue’s Room (the favourite to win) to the title and has made Obreht the youngest winner of the prize across its sixteen year history. Obreht has previously been named as one of the New Yorker magazine’s Top Twenty writers under forty.
Pulling together a series of stories around Natalia, a Doctor who has just lost her grandfather and set in the Balkans, the book links the story of an escaped tiger who pays nocturnal visits to a village and a search for a so called ‘deathless man’.
Judging panel chair, Bettany Hughes, described the book as ‘exceptional’:
‘By skilfully spinning a series of magical tales she has managed to bring the tragedy of chronic Balkan conflict thumping into our front rooms with a bittersweet vivacity. The book reminds us how easily we can slip into barbarity, but also of the breadth and depth of human love.’
Obreht is still digesting the win, stating in an interview with the Guardian that ‘I don’t feel like I’ve earned it karmically’. Publisher Orion have announced that they have received ‘five figures’ worth of orders for the title and are anticipating healthy sales numbers for the paperback, which, according to the Bookseller, should be available from the 23rd of June.
The annual Orange Prize of £30,000 is awarded for the best novel written in English by a female author, published within the last year.
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