Ibrahim Nasrallah wins International Book Prize for Arabic fiction

Abu Dhabi - The novel paints a chilling picture of humanity in all its destructive potential.

Jordanian-Palestinian writer Ibrahim Nasrallah has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction with a novel about humanity's capacity for savagery.

The novel 'The Second War of the Dog', published by Arab Scientific Publishers, was named winner at a ceremony on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. Nasrallah wins $50,000 and funding for an English translation of his novel and he can expect an increase in book sales and international recognition.

Nasrallah's book was chosen from among 124 entries from 14 countries for the award, which is affiliated with Britain's prestigious Man Booker Prize.

Set in a dystopian future society, the book centers on an opponent of the regime who descends into brutal nihilism. The author has called it "a warning of what we could become in the future."

The novel focuses on the corrupt main character, Rashid, who changes from an opponent of the regime to a materialistic and unscrupulous extremist. Nasrallah reveals the intrinsic savagery in human beings, as he describes a futuristic world where greed intensifies and human values and ethics are ignored.

Ibrahim Al Saafin, who chaired the judging panel, said the book used "humor and insight" to expose society's tendency toward brutality.

"The 'Second War of the Dog' is a masterful vision of a dystopian future in a nameless country, using fantasy and science fiction techniques. With humour and insight, it exposes the tendency towards brutality inherent in society, imagining a time where human and moral values have been discarded and anything is permissible, even the buying and selling of human souls," said Ibrahim Al Saafin.

"Ibrahim Nasrallah's novel paints a chilling picture of humanity in all its destructive potential. Without a moral compass, the protagonist lets go of the normal bounds that constrain human behaviour. Nasrallah expertly draws the reader into this world from different vantage points, using crisp language in which humour makes the moral burden of relating to the main character "bearable", or just so. His win is an accolade well-deserved," Professor Yasir Suleiman, Chair of the Board of IPAF Trustees, commented.

Four of his novels and a volume of poetry have been translated into English, including: Time of White Horses, which was shortlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2009; and Lanterns of the King of Galilee, longlisted in 2013. In a 2012 review of Time of White Horses, the New Statesman praised Nasrallah's "intensely eloquent voice [that] gives Western audiences an insight into the lives of the marginalised".

'The Second War of the Dog' was chosen by the IPAF judges as the best work of fiction published between July 2016 and June 2017 from 124 entries from 14 countries.

Alongside chair Ibrahim Al Saafin, who is a Jordanian academic, critic, poet, novelist and playwright, the 2018 judges were: Inam Bioud, an Algerian academic, translator, novelist and poet; Jamal Mahjoub, a Sudanese-English writer and novelist; Mahmoud Shukair, a Palestinian short story writer and novelist; and Barbara Skubic, a Slovenian writer and translator.

The five shortlisted finalists, Amir Tag Elsir, Aziz Mohammed, Shahad Al Rawi, Walid Shurafa and Dima Wannous were also honoured at the ceremony, each receiving $10,000.

Ahead of the announcement, the shortlisted authors took part in an event at the National Theatre in Abu Dhabi hosted by the Emirates Writers Union and NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, and chaired by Sudanese novelist Ann El Safi. Walid Shurafa also spoke about his shortlisted novel Heir of the Tombstones at the NYU Abu Dhabi Art Gallery in connection with an exhibition Permanent Temporariness, which focuses on the lives of Palestinian refugees.

Ibrahim Nasrallah will participate in his first public event as the winner of the Prize, alongside the five shortlisted authors, on April 25, the opening day of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The event will run from 7-9.30pm at the Sea of Culture Foundation Stand (12B36), under the patronage of Sheikha Sheikha bint Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan.

About the author: Ibrahim Nasrallah was born in 1954 to Palestinian parents who were uprooted from their land in 1948. He spent his childhood in the Alwehdat Palestinian Refugee Camp in Amman, Jordan and began his working life as a teacher in Saudi Arabia. After returning to Amman, he worked as a journalist and for the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation. Since 2006, he has been a full-time writer and has acted as a mentor to emerging writers at IPAF's annual nadwa (writers' workshop), in 2014 and 2016.

(With inputs from AP)

• UAE
• Abu Dhabi