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German book prize goes to Austrian Tonio Schachinger
Tonio Schachinger was awarded the German Book Prize for his novel “Echtzeitalter”. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
It is a sensitive coming-of-age story and a contemporary narrative peppered with irony: Now “Real Age” has been named the best novel of the year.
The coming-of-age novel “Echtzeitalter” (Rowohlt Verlag) tells the story of high school student Till, who attends an elite boarding school in Vienna. It’s about the disintegration of the family, friendships, first love. And it’s about gaming, because Till’s puberty takes place largely online.
World of computer games
“Schachinger reflects the political and social conditions of the present with subtle irony: brute force speaks from educated pupils. The world of computer games offers a place of fantasy and freedom,” the jury said in its statement. The text deals with the question of the social place of literature in a narratively outstanding and contemporary way.
Schachinger was born in New Delhi, India, in 1992, studied German and language arts in Vienna and lives there today. Next to him in the final round were Terézia Mora (“Muna or Half of Life”), Necati Öziri (“Father’s Mark”), Anne Rabe (“The Possibility of Happiness”), Sylvie Schenk (“Maman”) and Ulrike Sterblich ( “Drifters”).
Six finalists
This year, a total of 196 novels from 113 German-language publishers were in the running. In August, the seven-person jury announced its pre-selection, the longlist comprising 20 titles, followed in September by the shortlist with the six finalists.
The German Book Prize is considered one of the most important awards in the industry and has been awarded since 2005. The prize is worth a total of 37,500 euros: the winner receives 25,000 euros, the other authors on the shortlist each receive 2,500 euros.
The book prize is awarded by the Book Culture and Reading Promotion Foundation of the German Book Trade Association. Last year, 124 publishers submitted 202 works. The prize then went to Kim de l’Horizon for the novel “Blood Book”.
Tonio Schachinger: Real-time age. Rowohlt. ISBN 978-3-498-00317-3. 365 pages