Malaparte Prize 2023, Benjamin Labatut's 'Science' wins

On the suggestive island of Capri, the Chilean writer Benjamin Labatot, known in Italy for his works, was honored When we stopped understanding the world

ser twenty-sixth edition of the Malaparte Prize awarded Benjamin LabatutThe writer, born in the Netherlands and naturalized in Chile, is originally from a South American country. He owes his fame in Italy above all to his book When we stopped understanding the world, published by Adelphi in 2021 with translation by Lisa Tobey. The award was awarded to coordinator Gabriella Bontempo, together with the jury composed of Leonardo Colombati, Giordano Bruno Gheri, Giuseppe Merlino, Silvio Perrella, Emanuele Trevi and Marina Valencis.

Malaparte Prize 2023

Benjamin Labatut, Malaparte Prize 2023

Based on his passion for science, the writer collects in his novel a series of stories and wonders. Reconstructing the birth of modern science. A book in which science becomes literature: Starting with a text about the creation of Prussian blue, the narrative is divided into stories about 20th-century science heroes such as Einstein and Heisenberg and texts about the tragedies caused by gassing in Nazi extermination camps

The novel then ends with a discussion of quantum physics. Preparing Capri for the Malapare Prize is also an opportunity for Labatut to talk about and promote his new book titled “idiot”This is the text that will be released in bookstores to coincide with the awarding of the Malaparte Prize.

Benjamin Labatut, Malaparte Prize 2023

Malaparte Prize

The idea to create this literary award was born from Graziella Lunardi Bontempo, but credit goes to her niece. Gabriela Bontempo and supported by Michele Pontecorvo Ricciardi, Vice President of Ferrarelle Società Benefit, the sole sponsor of the Prize, who enthusiastically embraced the project to restore appreciation to Capri, and for which the Malaparte Prize continues to have the exceptional prestige that it brings with it