Orange to Robinson

Marilynne Robinson has won the Orange Prize for her novel Home. The prize is awarded for the best novel by a woman. From the Guardian:

The victory will mean a sales spike for Robinson and the result has been welcomed by bookshops. Jonathan Ruppin, of Foyles, said: "Robinson is simply one of the outstanding prose stylists of recent years; she will undoubtedly come to be seen as essential as Nabokov or Conrad. In picking this as this year's winner, the judges have made a real statement about lyrical power of fiction, beyond its basic function to tell stories."

I liked Housekeeping, but I haven't read Robinson's other work yet; this is the first I've heard that she's on a par with Nabokov or Conrad, though. It's a little early for that judgment.

For a different take on the awards event, take a look at what Tania Hershman, a writer considered for a different prize, the Orange Award for New Writers, has to say about the evening.