Sarah Bernstein has won the Scotiabank Giller Prize, given annually to a work of Canadian fiction, for her novel Study for Obedience.
Bernstein’s book, published in August by Knopf Canada, follows a young woman who moves to her ancestral homeland to be close to her brother; after she arrives, her new town is plagued by a series of mysterious occurrences. The novel is also a finalist for this year’s Booker Prize.
“The modernist experiment continues to burn incandescently in Sarah Bernstein’s slim novel, Study for Obedience,” the prize jury said in a citation. “The prose refracts Javier Marías sometimes, at other times Samuel Beckett. It’s an unexpected and fanged book, and its own studied withholdings create a powerful mesmeric effect.”
Bernstein, a Canada native who lives in Scotland, appeared remotely at the ceremony, the CBC reports, because she gave birth 10 days prior.
The event, held in Toronto, was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters, two of whom jumped on stage holding signs that said “Scotiabank Funds Genocide” before they were removed. Another shouted from the audience, “Scotiabank currently has a $500 million stake in Elbit Systems! Elbit Systems is supplying the Israeli military’s genocide against the Palestinian people!” Elbit Systems is an Israeli defense electronics company.
Later in the ceremony, as the winner was announced, another protester shouted what the Associated Press said were “anti-Israel war slogans.”
The Giller Prize was established in 1994 by Canadian philanthropist Jack Rabinovitch. Previous winners include Rohinton Mistry for A Fine Balance, Esi Edugyan for Half-Blood Blues and Washington Black, and Suzette Mayr for The Sleeping Car Porter.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
