Bert Natter has won the Libris Literature Prize with the book At the end of the war. The jury of the prestigious prize announced this on Monday evening during the Nieuwsuur broadcast.
The jury, chaired by journalist and presenter Noraly Beyer, describes Natter’s book as a ‘true tour de force’. At the end of the war is set one day around a concentration camp and follows 31 characters. ‘It shows great literary skill to allow this choir of voices to flow so naturally,’ the jury states in the jury report. Natter also succeeds in writing ‘a completely original, idiosyncratic and beautiful new book about this difficult subject.’
According to the jury, Natter also shows with his novel that stories from the Second World War have not all been told yet. ‘With this novel, Natter allows us to look again at a historical period that we already thought we knew, but which we now see with new eyes. And that is a great literary achievement.’
50,000 euros
Peter Buwalda (The yes-man), Lieselot Mariën (As the animals), Coco Schrijber (The hum of almost everything), Peter Terrin (No winter yet) and Nadia de Vries (Surrender on command) were the other remaining contenders on the shortlist.
The Libris Literature Prize is a prestigious award for the best Dutch-language novel of the past year. Natter receives 50,000 euros and a bronze medal. Last year the prize went to Safae el Khannoussi for her novel Oroppa.
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