Rabih Alameddine wins PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction

Agencies | Albany

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Rabih Alameddine’s “The Wrong End of the Telescope,” a novel written in the second person about a transgender doctor named Mina who works in a refugee camp for Syrians, has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction.

“This novel explores the complexities of the refugees’ lives and the intricacies of Mina’s relationships, examines the many angles of a timely and vital subject, and probes the life-changing choices humans are forced to make,” according to a statement issued by award judges, AP reports.

“The exquisite language suspends time and investigates the intricacies of seeking refuge, both from geopolitical disruptions and from one’s own patterns of life.” Alameddine, a Lebanese American whose other works include the National Book Award finalist “An Unnecessary Woman,” will receive $15,000. Philip Roth, E.L. Doctorow and Karen Jay Fowler are among the previous PEN/Faulkner winners.

“No writer can look at the list of books that have won the PEN/Faulkner Award and not be humbled and honored to have their book listed among them,” Alameddine said in a statement. Last week, the PEN/Faulkner Foundation announced that Oprah Winfrey had been named its second annual Literary Champion, a lifetime achievement honor given last year to LeVar Burton.