Beatlebone by Kevin Barry, a novel about John Lennon taking a class in primal screaming on a small island, has won the 2015 Goldsmiths Prize.
“Beatlebone a novel that takes its reader to the edge – of the Western world, of sanity, of fame, of words. But it also takes us to the very edge of the novel form, where it meets its notorious doppelgänger, autobiography,” explained Josh Cohen, Chair of Judges, in a statement.
“Its compulsive narrative of one of the last century’s great musicians and pop icons gradually, and without a hint of contrivance, becomes a startling and original meditation on the uncanny relationship of a writer to his character,” continued Cohen. “Intricately weaving and blurring fiction and life, Beatlebone embodies beautifully this prize’s spirit of creative risk. We’re proud to crown it our winner.”
Acts of the Assassins by Richard Beard, Satin Island by Tom McCarthy, The Field of the Cloth of Gold by Magnus Mills, Grief is the Thing With Features by Max Porter, and Lurid and Cute by Adam Thirlwell also made the shortlist for the prize.