From the Nobel Prize winner, a coming-of-age story that illuminates the harshness and beauty of an Africa on the brink of colonization Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise was characterized by the Nobel Prize committee as Abdulrazak Gurnah's "breakthrough" work. It is at once the chronicle of an African boy's coming-of-age, a tragic love story, and a tale of the corruption of African tradition by European colonialism.
Unlike many literary prizes, the Nobel Prize is based on a body's author of work as a whole, rather than an individual title. This year's Nobel Prize for Literature has been awarded to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse. Read on to learn about his impact, as well as that of winners from the past seven years.