Commonwealth Writers Prize winners 2009
Congratulations to Christos Tsiolkas for winning Best Book and Mohammed Hanif for winning Best First Book in the Commonwealth Writers Prize. The prizes were awarded at a ceremony during the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.
I was lucky to get a seat at the session where Christos read from his book "The Slap." He chose to read a piece where the mother of the slapped child is phoning her mother to wish her happy birthday. The audience was very quiet, hanging off every word. The judges comment "A controversial and daring novel, The Slap uses the iconic scene of a suburban Australian barbecue to examine identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society. Offering points of view from eight different characters, it taps into universal tensions and dilemmas around family life and child-rearing. This book is sure to challenge readers and provoke debate." 
I didn't make it to the session where the First Book authors were reading from their pieces. However I did sit next to someone who had heard them and she was fairly confident that Mohammed would win. The judges said that "A case of exploding mangoes" was "A tour de force, this fast-paced political intrigue merges fact and fiction to provide a startling interrogation of dictatorship, religious fundamentalism and abuse of power. A trenchant satire, tender and funny, it will long live on in readers' minds"
I was lucky to get a seat at the session where Christos read from his book "The Slap." He chose to read a piece where the mother of the slapped child is phoning her mother to wish her happy birthday. The audience was very quiet, hanging off every word. The judges comment "A controversial and daring novel, The Slap uses the iconic scene of a suburban Australian barbecue to examine identities and personal relationships in a multicultural society. Offering points of view from eight different characters, it taps into universal tensions and dilemmas around family life and child-rearing. This book is sure to challenge readers and provoke debate." 
I didn't make it to the session where the First Book authors were reading from their pieces. However I did sit next to someone who had heard them and she was fairly confident that Mohammed would win. The judges said that "A case of exploding mangoes" was "A tour de force, this fast-paced political intrigue merges fact and fiction to provide a startling interrogation of dictatorship, religious fundamentalism and abuse of power. A trenchant satire, tender and funny, it will long live on in readers' minds"
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