Scottish murder tale tipped for Booker Prize win

A TALE of murder and class warfare in the Scottish Highlands by a little-known novelist is one of the favourites to win this year’s Booker Prize for literature.

His Bloody Project (pic), the second novel by Scottish author Graeme Macrae Burnet, is outselling the other five nominees, leaving its small Glasgow-based publisher struggling to meet demand.

“One of the great side effects of being shortlisted is the interest that it has created abroad,” Burnet said ahead of the ceremony for the prestigious English-language literary award tomorrow.

His novel tells the gritty story of a young and poor tenant farmer who murders the village administrator and his family.

The social hierarchy of 19th-century rural Scotland – dominated by aristocratic landowners – is a key feature of the book. But its roots stretch far from the small community of Culduie, where the novel is set.

“The initial idea, which has been in my head for 30 years, came from the case of Pierre Riviere, a French peasant in the early 19th century who killed three members of his own family and then wrote a rather eloquent account of what he had done,” said Burnet.

The annual Booker Prize is one of the most high-profile awards in English-language literature.

£ The winner receives 50,000 (RM255,000) and is all but guaranteed an upsurge in book sales and worldwide readership. — AFP