(1961) The Prize
by Irving Wallace
Novelist Andrew Craig
has not been sober in a very long time. After losing his wife in an
auto accident he believes to have been his own fault, he turned to the
bottle, and to his sister-in-law, Leah, who acts as his caretaker and
live-in nurse. Then, when he is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature
for his novel, "The Perfect State," a historical jab at communism, he
heads for Stockholm, hoping to find a reason to live, and to write. The
other laureates have their own problems, a heart surgeon who believes
that sharing his award with an Italian colleague robs him of his glory, a
married couple awarded the prize in medicine in the middle of a serious
marital crisis, and others – including Max Stratman, whose heart isn't
really up to the trip, but who needs the prize money to provide for
niece, Emily.This novel delves into the lives, loves, dreams and
nightmares of these characters, and others, building a panoramic view of
the Nobel Prize, life in Stockholm, and the state of world politics in
the years following World War II. It is rich, and compelling, driving
the reader from the pits of despair to the heights of inspiration. A
wonderful novel by one of America's finest novelists. The Prize was
made into a movie starring Paul Newman.
has not been sober in a very long time. After losing his wife in an
auto accident he believes to have been his own fault, he turned to the
bottle, and to his sister-in-law, Leah, who acts as his caretaker and
live-in nurse. Then, when he is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature
for his novel, "The Perfect State," a historical jab at communism, he
heads for Stockholm, hoping to find a reason to live, and to write. The
other laureates have their own problems, a heart surgeon who believes
that sharing his award with an Italian colleague robs him of his glory, a
married couple awarded the prize in medicine in the middle of a serious
marital crisis, and others – including Max Stratman, whose heart isn't
really up to the trip, but who needs the prize money to provide for
niece, Emily.This novel delves into the lives, loves, dreams and
nightmares of these characters, and others, building a panoramic view of
the Nobel Prize, life in Stockholm, and the state of world politics in
the years following World War II. It is rich, and compelling, driving
the reader from the pits of despair to the heights of inspiration. A
wonderful novel by one of America's finest novelists. The Prize was
made into a movie starring Paul Newman.