Jordanian-Palestinian author Ibrahim Nasrallah has won the Arab world’s top literary prize for The Second War of the Dog, a dystopian novel that explores brutality and extremism in society.
Nasrallah was announced as the winner of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) — known as the Arabic Booker — in the United Arab Emirates’ capital, Abu Dhabi, yesterday.
His novel, set in a nameless country, focuses on the main character, Rashid, who “changes from an opponent of the regime to a materialistic and unscrupulous extremist,” the judges said. The Second War of the Dog is about “extremism and blind killing,” Nasrallah said as he accepted the prize at a ceremony in Abu Dhabi.
“Such extremism is not limited to obscurantist organisations, but extends to many individuals and organisations that claim tolerance and acceptance of freedom of opinion and belief,” he added.
Nasrallah said extremism also extends to “the oppressing powers and many regimes that have violently practised it against its citizens in our social and political life before it was practised by extremist organisations.”
Born in 1954, Nasrallah has so far published 14 poetry collections and 16 novels.
Using fantasy and science fiction techniques, the novel “exposes the tendency towards brutality inherent in society,” Jordanian author Ibrahi, al-Saafin, the head of the judging panel, said in a statement. Nasrallah was among six Arab writers shortlisted for the annual award.
The six will receive $10,000 each, with a further grand prize of $50,000 going to Nasrallah.
The foundation also funds an English translation of the winning novel. The six shortlisted novels have been chosen from 124 entries from 14 countries. The prize, launched in 2007, is supported by the Booker Prize Foundation in London and funded by governmental Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority.
Ibrahim Nasrallah poses for a photo after winning the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction in Abu Dhabi, yesterday.
