A Good Week for ... , October 20, 2013
Eleanor Catton became the Man Booker Prize's youngest winner for The Luminaries, a novel set in her homeland in the 19th century that explores identity, greed and human frailty.
The New Zealand author became the Man Booker Prize's youngest winner for , a novel set in her homeland in the 19th century that explores identity, greed and human frailty. Retailers reported copies of the 28-year-old's 832-page novel were "walking out the door", with some New Zealanders saying her win was better than winning the rugby World Cup. Catton admitted her complex novel was "a publisher's nightmare" but thanked them for striking the "elegant balance between making art and making money".
More than two weeks of uncertainty came to at least a temporary end for US citizens with Republicans and Democrats hatching a last-minute deal to raise the debt limit and end a government shutdown that began on October 1. The deal funds the government through to January 15 and suspends the debt limit until February 17, setting up another round of confrontations. The compromise was a bruising defeat for Republican conservatives who had demanded changes to President Barack Obama's health care law.
Hong Kong cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze claimed East Asian Games gold with victory over China's Lin Junhong in the women's sprint final. Lee led all the way in the first and then overtook Lin on the last bend in the following race to score a 2-0 win. Lee's success was one of 10 Hong Kong gold medals, a figure that delighted officials despite a much bigger haul at the previous games on home soil.
