An academic’s study of human genetic mutation has been named winner of the Guardian First Book Award.
Judges praised the “intelligence” and “inquisitiveness” of Armand Marie Leroi’s “Mutants: On the Form, Varieties and Errors of the Human Body.”
The $19,000 prize, awarded by The Guardian newspaper, is open to any book, fiction or nonfiction, by a first-time author published in English. Since the prize was launched in 1999, it has been won three times by works of fiction and three times by nonfiction books.
This year’s shortlist included Susanna Clarke’s magical best seller, “Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell”; Rory Stewart’s tale of an Afghan journey, “The Places in Between”; Matthew Hollis’ poetry collection “Ground Water”; and “Natasha,” a book of short stories by Toronto-based writer David Bezmogis.
Claire Armitstead, who headed the judging panel, said Leroi’s book was chosen for “the scope of its reference, its elegance and its inquisitiveness.”
“It is not just about the science of abnormality, but about everything that could possibly be affected by that science, from the life-span of fruit flies to the depiction of nostrils in the paintings of Toulouse-Lautrec,” she said.