CONSIDERING all the fuss generated by the prize money many readers and critics question the decision to award £100,000 to one book, preferring instead to see it spilt three ways - the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award enjoyed an ease baptism last year. This was largely due to the undisputed quality of its two main contenders, David Malouf and John Banville. Its inaugural winner, Maloufs 1993 Booker contender Remember in Babylon is an outstanding novel, as beautiful as its theme of post colonial cultural displacement is important.
One year on, the situation is different. The prize is now an established reality, already possessing a distinguished previous winner. So it is time to look more critically. Admittedly the organisers have not made it easy for themselves. The long list of contenders included, as it did last year, some very odd nominations. Perhaps prize long lists invariably do? But the mix of popular and serious when seen in such a way tends to result in a Eurovision Song Contest like rag bag which is difficult to take entirely seriously.
Some observers have applauded the fact that these nominations are drawn from public, library submissions made by libraries in 194 cities in 49 countries. The diversity of the long list and subsequent short list reflects, the contrasting cultural perspectives of the nominating groups. The idea of people from, all over the world co operating in such a culturally reflective venture is exciting. But - the question must be asked - does it guarantee a quality winner?
This year's short list of eight titles included works as varied as Rohinton Mistry's 1996 Booker contender, A Fine Balance and Alan Warner's rather queasy cult novel, Morvern Calllar. So far, so good. Or is it? Allowing for the obvious fact that fiction tends to fall into two broad camps, public issues versus the intensely personal, this list offers a blatant juxtaposing of big themes and surreal preoccupations. Also, there is the neat mathematical balance of four novels written in English facing four translated, from their original languages. This is an observation, not a criticism. After all the Nobel Prize assesses the novelists, poets and playwrights of the world. The Booker Prize considers fiction written only in English by writers from countries within the British Commonwealth, and Ireland. The IMPAC prize is, above all, for all its undeniable internationalism, an English language award and therefore the availability of translation is an unavoidably determining factor.
