Literature award goes to Austrian, Polish writers

STOCKHOLM — Austrian author Peter Handke and Polish novelist Olga Tokarczuk— two writers whose works are deeply intertwined in Europe’s religious, ethnic and social fault lines — won the 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes for literature on Thursday.

The rare double announcement came after no literature prize was awarded last year due to sexabuse allegations that tarnished the Swedish Academy, which awards the literature prize.

Yet if prize organizers hoped to get through this year’s awards without controversy, they will likely be disappointed.

The Swedish Academy called Handke “one of the most influential writers in Europe” after World War II and praised his work for exploring “the periphery and the specificity of human experience” with linguistic ingenuity.

But the 76yearold author has long faced criticism for his vigorous defense of the Serbs during the 1990s wars that devastated the Balkans as Yugoslavia disintegrated. He spoke at the 2006 funeral of former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, who at the time was facing war crimes charges, calling him “a rather tragic man.”

Handke’s views led novelist Salman Rushdie in 1999 to call him a contender for “International Moron of the Year.”

If Handke’s victory caused uncomfortable ripples, the choice of Tokarczuk was welcomed by liberalminded authors and readers in her native Poland and beyond.

The 57yearold novelist is one of Poland’s bestknown authors, known for her humanist themes and playful, subversive streak. The academy said she was chosen for works that explore the “crossing of boundaries as a form of life.”

Tokarcuzk has been attacked by Polish conservatives — and received death threats — for criticizing aspects of the country’s past, including its episodes of antiSemitism. She is

also a strong critic of Poland’s current rightwing government.

Her 2014 novel “The Books of Jacob” tackles the forced conversion of Polish Jews to Catholicism in the 18th century. Her book “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” is a crime thriller with feminist and animalrights themes that offers a sometimes unflattering depiction of smalltown Polish life.

Jill Lawless and David Keyton are Associated Press writers.