more-inTwo novels about the Nazis took France’s biggest literary prizes on Monday, with Eric Vuillard’s story of how German industry and finance backed Adolf Hitler winning the top Prix Goncourt. L’ordre du jour (in English ‘Agenda’) had been among the favourites for the Goncourt prize — the most prestigious in the French-speaking world. Mr. Vuillard, 49, said he was taken aback on hearing he won for his elegant, 160-page book, which charts how the financial support of German industrialists was crucial to Hitler’s rise. “One is always surprised, sometimes fatally,” he told reporters at the Paris restaurant where the winner was announced. While Mr. Vuillard gets only 10 euros ($11) in prize money, the Goncourt almost guarantees a boost in sales of 4,50,000 copies or more, placing it instantly among the year’s top best-sellers.

Source: The Hindu November 06, 2017 16:41 UTC