Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 32 (2011) Winner
Alex Shakar
アレックス・シャーカー
Alex Shakar
Aliases:
Alexander Michael Shakar
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1968-04-25 （Brooklyn, New York, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short story writer, university professor, academic
- Active Years
- 1990-
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
- Influenced By
- Thomas Pynchon, Don DeLillo, Neal Stephenson, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Tom Wolfe
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yale University | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| University of Illinois Chicago | — | English and Creative Writing | PhD | — | United States |
| Stuyvesant High School | — | — | — | — | United States |
Yale University
Degree:
BA
Year of Graduation:
1990
Country:
United States
Received BA
University of Illinois Chicago
English and Creative Writing
Degree:
PhD
Country:
United States
PhD in English and creative writing (year unknown)
Stuyvesant High School
Country:
United States
High school attended
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction) | Luminarium | フィクション | Los Angeles Times | 受賞 |
| 1996 | National Fiction Competition | City in Love | — | National Fiction Competition | 受賞 |
| 1996 | Independent Presses Editors' "Pick of the Year" | City in Love | — | Independent Presses | 受賞 |
Los Angeles Times Book Prize (Fiction)
2011
Work:
Luminarium
Category:
フィクション
Organization:
Los Angeles Times
Result:
受賞
National Fiction Competition
1996
Work:
City in Love
Organization:
National Fiction Competition
Result:
受賞
Independent Presses Editors' "Pick of the Year"
1996
Work:
City in Love
Organization:
Independent Presses
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
City in Love
1996 short story collection, fictionA short story collection set in a mythical version of New York City that reimagines transformation myths from Ovid's Metamorphoses.
transformationurban mythidentity
The Savage Girl
2001 novelSet in a fictional American metropolis, follows Ursula Van Urden as she trains as a trendspotter, cares for her schizophrenic model sister Ivy, and becomes involved with a homeless girl she calls the "savage girl."
consumer culturemental illnessurban alienation
Translations
- Translated into six languages
Luminarium
2011 novel 448 pagesFollows Fred Brounian, a former co-CEO of a software company devoted to creating Utopian virtual worlds, as he copes with circumstances beyond his control; examines the uneasy intersection of technology and spirituality.
technology and spiritualitycorporate cultureloss and redemption
Bibliography
- City in Love (1996)
- The Savage Girl (2001)
- Luminarium (2011)
Translations of Works
- The Savage Girl has been translated into six languages
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- postmodern, multilayered narrationsatirical and language-playful proseattention to urban detail
- Recurring Motifs
- urban transformationtechnology vs. spiritualityshifting identities
Legacy
Alex Shakar is regarded as a writer who explores urban transformation in late-20th and early-21st century American literature. His novel Luminarium won the 2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize and received critical acclaim.
Quotes
-
"A penetrating look at the uneasy intersection of technology and spirituality."
Source: Publishers Weekly (review, 2011) (2011)
Trivia
- His father is actor Martin Shakar.
- He was a Michener Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin.
- He attended Stuyvesant High School.