Vancouver’s Madeleine Thien ‘moved’ to receive prestigious Man Booker Prize nod

TORONTO – Vancouver-born Madeleine Thien says she feels lucky and honoured to be among the novelists in contention for the prestigious Man Booker Prize.

Thien and Montreal-born David Szalay were among the 13 authors named to the long list for the lucrative British literary award on Wednesday.

“I was really moved. I still am really moved,” said Thien, 42, in a phone interview from Vancouver.

“It’s still settling in. It’s still quite unexpected.”

Previously open to writers from Britain, Ireland and the Commonwealth, the Booker expanded in 2014 to include all English-language authors. Despite fears of U.S. dominance, there has not yet been an American winner of the prize, which usually brings the victor a huge sales boost.

Hungary-based Szalay got the nod for “All That Man Is” (McClelland & Stewart.) The story is set in various European cities and offers a window into the lives of men at different stages in their lives, from their teens through old age.

Thien was recognized for “Do Not Say We Have Nothing” (Knopf Canada) set in China before, during and after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

The heart of the story involves three Chinese musicians who are studying Western classical music at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in the 1960s, said Thien. The novel explores the revolution that occurred under Mao Zedong and the many political campaigns that pulled apart people’s lives, she added.

“I think at its heart it’s about art and revolution and music as an expression of the personal self, and also a public self, and what happens when those two are in conflict.”

Thien is based in Montreal and is the common-law partner of Canadian author Rawi Hage. She is the daughter of Malaysian-Chinese immigrants who relocated to Canada in the 1970s.

“My parents spoke different languages, but my mother chose English. So for me, English was a place of freedom. It was a place I could sort of find a sense of belonging, but also integrate the world my parents have given me.”

Thien said being recognized with the Booker nod feels like a chance for an author’s work “to be in conversation with English literature.”

“That’s very special and very rare. So it’s a great honour. And also, you feel incredibly fortunate because there’s so many books and it’s a subjective process. You just feel very lucky.”

Celebrated South African novelist J.M. Coetzee and U.S. Pulitzer Prize winner Elizabeth Strout are also among the contenders.

Coetzee’s “The Schooldays of Jesus” and Strout’s “My Name is Lucy Barton” are among the best-known titles on a long list that spurned big-name writers including Ian McEwan and Don DeLillo in favour of less famous authors and first-time novelists.

Coetzee, who lives in Australia, is the early bookies’ favourite and would become the first triple Booker winner if he takes the prize. He won in 1983 with “Life and Times of Michael K” and in 1999 with “Disgrace.”

Strout won the fiction Pulitzer in 2009 for “Olive Kitteridge,” which was turned into a HBO miniseries starring Frances McDormand.

The eclectic list features four first novels — David Means’ “Hystpoia,” Wyl Menmuir’s “The Many,” Ottessa Moshfegh’s “Eileen” and Virginia Reeves’ “Work Like Any Other” — alongside established authors such as A.K. Kennedy for “Serious Sweet” and Deborah Levy for “Hot Milk.”

There’s also a rare nomination for a crime thriller, Graeme Macrae Burnet’s “His Bloody Project.”

Biographer Amanda Foreman, who chairs the five-member judging panel, said the books had “provoked intense discussion and, at times, passionate debate, challenging our expectations of what a novel is and can be.”

Six finalists will be announced Sept. 13, and the winner of the 50,000 pound (C$86,000) prize will be named on Oct. 25.

Founded in 1969, the award is named after its sponsor, financial services firm Man Group PLC.

— With files from The Associated Press.