Isabel Allende wins €1m Spanish literary prize under pseudonym
Chilean-American author awarded Premio Planeta for sequel to her 1982 debut novel, The House of the Spirits
TL;DR
- Isabel Allende won the €1m Premio Planeta under a pseudonym, Luz Ventura.
- The winning novel, 'La hora antes del alba,' is a sequel to her 1982 debut, 'The House of the Spirits,' featuring characters like Alba.
- The book explores themes of political upheaval and recovery from imprisonment and torture during Pinochet's dictatorship.
- Allende expressed concerns about rising extremism and authoritarianism, drawing parallels to the novel's context.
- The prize is one of the world's most lucrative literary awards and requires the winning manuscript to be published by Planeta.
- Sergio Hernández was the runner-up, winning €200,000 for his historical novel 'La añoranza'.