UK author M. John Harrison won the Booker Prize on Monday for his enigmatic novel “The End of Everything”, which echoes concerns about artificial intelligence in a darkly satirical depiction of post-apocalyptic Britain.
Harrison, 81, became the oldest winner of the award, which comes with a £50,000 ($67,000) prize and a boost in sales and profile for the winner.
A veteran of the British science fiction literary scene, it was Harrison’s first time being shortlisted for the coveted prize, which critics have said was long overdue.
He beat shortlisted authors Marlon James, Douglas Stuart, Elizabeth Strout, Luke Kennard and Rebecca Perry, whose entries ranged from a queer epic unfolding in 1980s Kingston to a campus satire set in modern-day London.
“The End of Everything” came out “ahead in terms of both its extraordinary expert writing, but also huge ambition,” chair of the judges Mary Beard told a press conference.
Harrison’s 13th novel follows the beachcomber Phillip Tennent and his dementia-stricken, free-spirited aunt Marnie, set in the near-future on the windswept English coast invaded by mysterious objects known as the iGhetti.
An unnamed catastrophe plunges the characters into a murky post-apocalyptic world where the European continent seems to have disappeared and the arrival of the iGhetti, which can imitate humans, evoke interactions with artificial intelligence.
