Despite being told that the rules prohibit more than one winner, the judging panel for this year’s Booker Prize have decided to crown two books: Margaret Atwood’s “Handmaid’s Tale” sequel “The Testaments” and Bernardine Evaristo’s “Girl, Woman, Other,” centering on 12 different characters and spanning over a 100 years. Chairman Peter Florence said the five judges “simply couldn’t choose” between the novels, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“Our consensus was that it was our decision to flout the rules,” Florence explained. “I think laws are inviolable and rules are adaptable to the circumstance.” In addition to being “wonderfully compelling page-turner thrillers,” Florence said the books “address the world today and give us insights into it and create characters that resonate with us.”
Atwood and Evaristo will share the 50,000 pound (around $63,000 USD) prize that comes along with the prestigious literary honor.
Set in Gilead, “The Testaments” takes place 15 years after the events of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and includes the stories of three protagonists, including “The Handmaid’s Tale’s” Aunt Lydia.
Florence praised the book for being “beautiful in its depth and exploration of the world of Gilead.” He added, “It might have looked like science fiction back in the day. Now it looks more politically urgent than ever before.”
Atwood previously took home the Booker in 2000 for “The Blind Assassin.” Now 79, she’s making history as the oldest-ever Booker winner.
Evaristo is also making history — she’s the first black woman to be honored with the trophy. “Girl, Woman, Other” is her eighth book. It tells the story of a dozen different characters from different classes and time periods, most of whom are black, British, and women.
Florence said that the characters “give a wonderful spectrum of black British women today.”
The Booker Prize was founded in 1969 and celebrates English-language authors from around the world. “It has been split between two winners twice before, most recently in 1992, when Michael Ondaatje’s ‘The English Patient’ and Barry Unsworth’s ‘Sacred Hunger’ shared the trophy,” THR notes. “The rules were changed after that to stipulate there can only be one winner each year.”
Previous winners of the Booker Prize include Anna Burns’ “Milkman,” Eleanor Catton’s “The Luminaries,” and Anne Enright’s “The Gathering.”
