Nobel Prize for Literature 2010

Hi!
The Nobels have been announced. Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa has won it this year. After Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who won it in 1982, Llosa is the first South American winner of the Nobel for literature. He is also the first Spanish language writer since Mexico's Octavio Paz in 1990. His debut novel, "The Time of the Hero" was buildt on his experiences at the Peruvian military academy. It won the Spanish Critics Award. However, copies of the novel were burned by the military authorities, who claimed that it was a false account. In addition to numerous novels, he also has many non-fiction works to his credit. He has received several awards and prizes. His doctoral thesis was on Garbriel Garcia Marquez.

Another Nobel of interest to me is the Nobel Peace, which went to Liu Xiaobo this year. Xiaobo is also a writer, a literary critic, and a prominent political activist, who has struggled for human rights in China. He has been prominent in the Chinese democracy movement since the Tiananmen Square killings in 1989. He has been jailed many times, and happens to be in prison at present. Can we hope that the Nobel may lead to his release? The Washinton Post seems to disagree:" In the past, pressured and powerful states have clamped down even harder on domestic dissent in the wake of the Nobel Peace Prize, rather than knuckle under to the Nobel committee.
This is the lesson of the awards to Tibet's Dalai Lama (1989), Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) and Iran's Shirin Ebadi (2003). "
Let's hope that in case of Liu Xiaobo, things turn out differently, and congratulate the Nobel Laureates!

Best wishes,

Anjali