Israeli author Grossman awarded Albtross prize

BERLIN - Israeli author David Grossman has been awarded the 40,000-euro ($53,500) Albatross Prize for his 2008 book “Until the End of the Land”, the Gunther Grass Foundation in Bremen announced Sunday.

Grossman, born in Jerusalem in 1954, is an author of fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature, and is known for his study of Palestinians under Israeli occupation, “The Yellow Wind”.

“Until The End of The Land” (German title: Eine Frau flieht vor einer Nachricht) is the story of Ora and two men - and two sons from each with whom she attempts to live in a shattered land. The work was translated into German by Anne Birkenhauer, who shares the prize.

The Gunter Grass Foundation’s jury praised the work as giving “powerful expression to the ambivalence of love and despair against the tragedies of her home land”.

During the writing of the book Grossman, a peace activist who supported Israel’s 2006 invasion of Lebanon, lost his 20-year-old son in military action against Hezbollah.

The prize is to be awarded in a ceremony in Bremen city hall later Sunday.