Award for Best Novel Goes to Kardos
Stefan Kardos is the winner of the most prestigious Slovenian book award, the Kresnik, given to the author of the best novel of the previous year around Midsummer Eve at Roznik, a hill above Ljubljana.
The jury said that Kardos's first novel "Rizling polka" (Riesling Polka) was relaxing and funny, but also a serious read. At Monday night's ceremony, Kardos received a EUR 5,000 cheque from newspaper publisher Delo, which gives out the award.
The award bears the name of a mythological being who appears at crossroads as a flame. Kresnik ("kres" meaning bonfire) seduces travellers into various activities, including writing. The winner of the award gets to light the bonfire at the award ceremony.
Kardos said at the ceremony that his novel combined the cosmopolitan and the Slovenian. The main character is a traditional man, who falls in love with a former Russian exotic dancer. "When these two worlds collide, there cannot be disaster, but action," he said.
Kardos, born in 1966, was already nominated for the Kresnik award in 2003, as one of three authors of the novel "Sekstant". He is a high school teacher of the Slovenian language in the eastern-most town of Lendava.
Other nominees for the 18th Kresnik award were Natasa Kramberger's "Nebesa v robidah" (Heaven in Blackberries), Feri Lainscek's "Nedotakljive" (Untouchables), Dusan Sarotar's "Biljard v Dobrayu" (Billiard in Dobray) and Suzana Tratnik's "Tretji Svet" (Third World).
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