Annal:1971 National Book Award for Fiction
From AwardAnnals
Results of the National Book Award in the year 1971. For a ranked list of books, try an honor roll:
- 1971 NBA–Fiction winner
- Score: 10.21
Mr. Artur Sammler, Holocaust survivor, intellectual, and occasional lecturer at Columbia University in 1960s New York City, is a “registrar of madness,” a refined and civilized being caught among people crazy with the promises of the future (moon landings, endless possibilities). His Cyclopean gaze reflects on the degradations of city life while looking deep into the sufferings of the human soul. “Sorry for all and sore at heart,” he observes how greater luxury and leisure have only led to more human suffering. To Mr. Sammler—who by the end of this ferociously…
