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11/10/2005
Banville takes the Booker
Irish author John Banville was declared the winner of the 2005 Man Booker Prize at a ceremony in London last night.
Banville's winning novel, The Sea, is the first Irish winner since Roddy Doyle won in 1993 with Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.
British author Julian Barnes had been hot favourite to win the Booker at his third attempt and bookmakers had made Banville a 7-1 outsider.
The chair of the judges, Prof John Sutherland, paid tribute to Banville's book as "a masterful study of grief, memory and love recollected".
Describing the last round of discussions as "extraordinarily closely contested", Sutherland went on to say: "the judges felt the level of the short-listed novels was as high as it can ever have been."
Accepting his £50,000 prize at London's Guildhall, Banville said: "This is a great surprise and a great pleasure. I must thank the judges, who are suddenly my best friends in the world."
Banville dedicated the award to his children, saying that he intended to spend his prize money on "good work and strong drink".
Bibliofemme: The Sea by John Banville
Bibliofemme author interviews: John Banville
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