The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2008 went to Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, a writer the Nobel committee called “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization.” The Nobel Prize in Literature is regarded as the most prestigious honor, domestic or international, for a writer to receive — not only does the winner receive 10 million kronor (or $1.4 million), but his or her name goes down with immortals such as Rudyard Kipling, William Butler Yeats, William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. Furthermore, Nobel laureates usually enjoy a spike in book sales and new international translations and reprints.
There is no doubt that Le Clézio is indeed a prolific and diverse writer and can be considered one of France’s best authors. He has written more than 40 books, 12 of which have been translated into English. His pieces range from essays to children’s books to novels; he is just as comfortable writing about Indian Ocean islanders as he is describing his own past. His prose, especially his earlier works, contains a haunting, existentialistic quality that is both thought-provoking and lulling: “And now it all has disappeared. I remember it, it is as though my life has been this dream alone, in which everything that was beautiful and new in the world was undone, destroyed ... Does the ripple of this dream still exist?” he asks in Pawana, a 54-page work published in 1992. His writing is transcendental, both thought-provoking and enjoyable.
It’s indisputable that Le Clézio is an author of talent; however, he is relatively unknown outside France. He is also yet another laureate who reflects a selection trend of the Nobel Committee: a preference toward European authors or authors who display a European mindset. Japan native Kenzaburo Oe in 1994 was the last laureate who didn’t fit into this trend; the last American to win the prize was Toni Morrison in 1993.
In fact, Le Clézio’s selection may have been a surprise had it not been for the remarks of Horace Engdahl, permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, who claimed that “you can’t get away from the fact that Europe is still the center of the literary world” and that American writing is “too isolated, too insular. They don’t translate enough and don’t really participate in the big dialogue of literature ... that ignorance is restraining,” in an interview with the Associated Press. Engdahl’s words sparked an outrage that wasn’t limited to just American academicians and ultimately cast doubt on the notoriously secretive selection committee; however, it has never been a secret that literary talent is the only criteria for selection. The Nobel Committee has snubbed some more-than-deserving authors such as James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov and Jorge Luis Borges for political or other extra-literary reasons.
After Engdahl’s comments, the odds of winning the award for American favorites such as Joyce Carol Oates and Philip Roth suffered substantial crashes as calculated by Ladbrokes, a British betting company — to no one’s surprise. The selection of Le Clézio didn’t astonish anyone, either. His writing is prodigious, yes, but it fits in the mold. One can only wish that mold was good writing, not the partisan influences of selection committee members
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