‘Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors’ wins 2024 Ondaatje Prize

Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors by Ian Penman (Fitzcarraldo Editions) has won the 2024 Ondaatje Prize, worth £10,000 (A$18,946), reports Book Brunch.

Penman’s book was chosen from a shortlist of six by judges Francis Spufford, Jan Carson, and chair Xiaolu Guo, who said of the winner: ‘This is the only book I have read twice this year. Truly, it is thousands of mirrors in terms of the thoughts, images and references running through this reflective and wonderfully interior work. The world of European cinema, especially Fassbinder’s film seen through Ian Penman’s eyes, has transported me to a tantalising place called post-war Europe. The book brings me back to my youth and my film school years in the east and west, and it reminds me of how powerful images have shaped our very understanding of love and life.’

Said Carson: ‘I’m so keen for more readers to discover this incredible little book. Every sentence is explosive. Every page left me reaching for my notebook to jot down things which required further thought … It’s flighty enough to read like fiction and yet it’s one of the most grounded books I’ve read in years. Yes, it’s about German cinema, but German cinema’s simply the mirror Penman’s holding up to force his readers to look long and hard at themselves.’

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the Ondaatje Prize, which was established in 2004 to celebrate works of fiction, nonfiction or poetry that ‘best evoke the spirit of a place’.

Category: International news