Sri Lankan-Born Michelle: The Winner Of The 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award

June 29, 2013 

The winner of the 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award on why prize-giving is arbitary and Australia is more multiculturally successful than it admits, the Guardian reports.

Michelle de Kretser: the novelist won the Miles Franklin Award 2013 for Questions of Travel. Photograph: guardian.co.uk

“Two main stories are told over a 40 year period, both of which weave in elements from De Kretser’s own history. There is Laura, a restless Australian explorer who ends up working for a travel publisher not unlike Lonely Planet, the company De Kretser worked for before embarking on a writing career, and there is Ravi, growing up in Sri Lanka, De Kretser’s birth place, who dreams of becoming an IT professional but whose life is undone by the horrors of ethnic violence.” Fiona Gruber writes.

Michelle de Kretser left Sri Lanka with her parents in 1972 when she was 14-year old .

A recent trip to Sri Lanka reminded her of what a society ruled by fear felt like, and the move from Melbourne to Sydney a few years ago gave her fresh eyes to see her adopted country, its wastefulness and beauty, an experience she gives to Ravi in Questions of Travel.

Michelle de Kretser: 'Who travels? Who doesn't? What is home?' - interview

The winner of the 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award on why prize-giving is arbitary and Australia is more multiculturally successful than it admits

Fiona Gruber-Saturday 22 June 2013

Sri Lankan-Born Michelle the Winner of the 2013 Miles Franklin Literary Award by nelvely