Congratulations to Téa Obreht, whose novel The Tiger’s Wife won the Orange Prize for Fiction last night. At 25, she is the youngest ever winner. Chairman of the judges Bettany Hughes said:
“The Tiger’s Wife is an exceptional book and Téa Obreht is a truly exciting new talent. Obreht’s powers of observation and her understanding of the world are remarkable. By skilfully spinning a series of magical tales she has managed to bring the tragedy of chronic Balkan conflict thumping into our front rooms with a bittersweet vivacity.”
Obreht is Serbian-American and her award winning novel is a delicate attempt to mythologize the Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s. With Serbian generals Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic both currently appearing at The Hague on charges of war crimes, there is a fitting symmetry to her victory.
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