The Nobel Game

Oh hey, it’s time to play the Nobel Guessing Game again. Apparently, according to this article, Syrian poet Adonis is the frontrunner for this year’s prize. [via The Guardian] Tomas Tranströmer is in second, though I have to admit I think Tranströmer is the better bet.

As I’ve done for the past two years, I’m going to pick five. I got Mario Vargas Llosa last year, so I’m hoping to go two-for-two this year. I’m going to go for Cormac McCarthy (the USA), László Krasznahorkai (Hungary), 残雪 (China), António Lobo Antunes (Portugal), and Antonio Tabucchi (Italy).

Yeah, I pick the unlikeliest bunch, but hey, it’s not like the committee has traditionally gone for the hot candidates.

I was going to go for Enrique Vila-Matas and Nicanor Parra, but I realise how unlikely it is that a Spanish-language writer will win for the second year running. Oh well. Next year.

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