Booker International finalists named

Books from Europe and Latin America that blur the boundaries of fiction, history and memoir are the final six contenders for the 50,000 pound ($69,000) International Booker Prize.

The shortlist for the literary award, announced late last month, includes “The War of the Poor,” a story of religion and revolution by France’s Eric Vuillard; the Jewish-Russian family history “In Memory of Memory” by Russian writer Maria Stepanova; and the imaginative shortstory collection “The Dangers of Smoking in Bed” by Argentina’s Mariana Enriquez.

The other finalists are the war story “At Night All Blood is Black,” by France’s David Diop; the science-themed story collection “When We Cease to Understand the World” by Chile’s Benjamín Labatut; and the futuristic

workplace novel “The Employees” by Danish writer Olga Ravn.

The award, run alongside the Booker Prize for English language fiction, is given annually to a work of fiction in any language that is translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland.

The contenders often include writers who are widely read in their own languages but less known in English.

The winner will be announced June 2, with the prize money split between the winning book’s author and its translator.

Getty Images file photo David Diop’s “At Night All Blood is Black” is one of six finalists.