Name: Par Lagerkvist
Year Won: 1951
Read: "Barabbas"
Original Language: Swedish
Reason: "for the artistic vigour and true independence of mind with which he endeavours in his poetry to find answers to the eternal questions confronting mankind"
About: "Barabbas" tells the story of Barabbas, the man who was freed in stead of Jesus Christ. He is freed, wanders around, and goes from a condemned murderer to someone who now has faith after experiencing miracles.
What I liked: It's clearly written and an intersting concept. It's a perfectly entertaining concept and the characters make more sense than they do in a number of other novels by authors that somehow won Nobels + is written with greater clarity and skill.
What I Disliked: Barabbas' conversion to faith felt about as subtle as that found in most Christian books. He just sort of goes from a bad man who believes in nothing to WHAM believing Christian because he witnessed a miracle. That's...about it. It seemed kind of trite and predictable, to be honest.
Should it have won a Nobel: Well, I suppose that a sinner having a religious reflection and struggling with himself is kind of unique and unusual, even if it was done far more masterfully in Graham Greene's "The Power and Glory", but surely that wasn't up for...
WHAT, YOU MEAN THAT "THE POWER AND GLORY" WAS PUBLISHED IN 1940, GREENE WAS STILL ALIVE IN 1951, AND WAS NEVER AWARDED A NOBEL PRICE? WHAT THE @@#$@#%@#$!!!!!
Never say that the Nobel prizes aren't biased. Especially towards Swedish writers.
Next Up: Viper's Tangle by François Mauriac
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