Sally Rooney’s Normal People has taken the top prize at the British book awards, beating Michelle Obama’s widely-tipped autobiography Becoming and last year’s Man Booker winner Anna Burns’s Milkman, to win the title of book of the year.
The 28-year-old Irish novelist’s second book, which charts the protracted on-off love affair between two young people over several years, landed the top prize at the awards, also known as the Nibbies or “Baftas of the book trade” on Monday night. While Rooney’s novel has been nominated for a number of awards, including the Man Booker, Folio and Dylan Thomas prizes, it has only picked up a couple of titles, including the Costa novel award and Waterstone’s book of the year. Read More