Angolan José Eduardo Agualusa is the only African author on prize shortlist

'A General Theory of Oblivion' by Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa has been short listed for the prestigious Man Booker International Prize 2016.

A General Theory of Oblivion is a wild patchwork of a novel that tells the story of Angola through Ludo, a woman who bricks herself into her apartment on the eve of Angolan independence.

Other authors nominated include anonymous Italian author Elena Ferrante, Nobel prize-winner Orhan Pamuk a political novel banned in mainland China have all been shorlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International prize, celebrating the finest in global fiction translated to English.

"This exhilarating shortlist will take readers both around the globe and to every frontier of fiction," Boyd Tonkin stated.

"In first-class translations that showcase that unique and precious art, these six books tell unforgettable stories from China and Angola, Austria and Turkey, Italy and South Korea. In setting, they range from a Mao-era re-education camp and a remote Alpine valley to the modern tumult and transformation of cities such as Naples and Istanbul."

"Our selection shows that the finest books in translation extend the boundaries not just of our world - but of the art of fiction itself."

The overall winner will be announced 16 May, at a formal dinner held at the V&A; the £50,000 prize will then be divided equally between the author and translator of the winning entry.

The full list can be found below:

José Eduardo Agualusa's A General Theory of Oblivion (Angola); translated by Daniel Hahn

Elena Ferrante's The Story of the Lost Child (Italy); translated by Ann Goldstein

Han Kang's The Vegetarian (South Korea); translated by Deborah Smith

Yan Lianke's The Four Books (China); translated by Carlos Rojas

Orhan Pamuk's A Strangeness in My Mind (Turkey); translated by Ekin Oklap

Robert Seethaler's A Whole Life (Austria); translated by Charlotte Collins

READ: African literature books 'Tram 83' and 'A General Theory of Oblivion' longlisted for prize