Daisy Rockwell’s and Geetanjali Shree’s genre-defying masterpiece, Tomb of Sand, won the International Booker Prize 2022. Here’s why the judges loved it.
The International Booker Prize 2022
The International Booker Prize 2022
- Winner
Tomb of Sand, written by Geetanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell, won the International Booker Prize 2022
Tomb of Sand is the first book originally written in any Indian language to win the International Booker Prize, and the first novel translated from Hindi to be recognised by the award.
Set in northern India, the novel follows the adventures of an 80-year-old woman who unexpectedly gains a new, and highly unconventional, lease of life.
The result is a book that is engaging, funny and utterly original, at the same time as being an urgent and timely protest against the destructive impact of borders and boundaries - whether between religions, countries or genders.
This is not just about me, the individual. I represent a language and culture and this recognition brings into larger purview the entire world of Hindi literature in particular and Indian literature as a whole.
This is a luminous novel of India and partition, but one whose spellbinding brio and fierce compassion weaves youth and age, male and female, family and nation into a kaleidoscopic whole
Frank Wynne, chair of the judges
Tomb of Sand
Winner of The International Booker Prize 2022
- Translated by
- Daisy Rockwell
- Published by
- Tilted Axis Press
An urgent yet engaging protest against the destructive impact of borders, whether between religions, countries or genders
The shortlist
Bora Chung presents a genre-defying collection of short stories, which blur the lines between magical realism, horror and science fiction
By Bora Chung
Translated by Anton Hur
Jon Fosse delivers both a transcendent exploration of the human condition and a radically ‘other’ reading experience – incantatory, hypnotic, and utterly unique
By Jon Fosse
Translated by Damion Searls
Told through the eyes of a 14-year-old boy subjected to relentless bullying, this is a haunting novel of the threat of violence that can stalk our teenage years
Translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd
A unique story that interweaves crime fiction with intimate tales of morality and the search for individual freedom
Translated by Frances Riddle
An urgent yet engaging protest against the destructive impact of borders, whether between religions, countries or genders
Translated by Daisy Rockwell
Olga Tokarczuk's portrayal of Enlightenment Europe on the cusp of precipitous change, searching for certainty and longing for transcendence
Translated by Jennifer Croft
The longlist
The 2022 judges
‘Borges famously believed that paradise would be ‘a kind of library’, and spending the past year in the company of some of the world’s great writers and their equally gifted translators has been a kind of heaven. From the intimate to the epic, the numinous to the profane, the books make up a passionately debated longlist that trace a ring around the world. These 13 titles from 12 countries and 11 languages explore the breadth and depth of human experience, and are a testament to the power of language and literature.’
Frank Wynne, chair of the 2022 judges
‘The five judges, led by Frank Wynne, bring together a wealth of experience as world-class readers, writers, critics and translators. The discussions they will have about the books in contention for the 2022 International Booker Prize will be a masterclass of modern literary appreciation.’
Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize