The Nobel Prize in Literature is often seen as the pinnacle of literary achievement. But what if the award itself becomes part of the story? That’s the case with the enigmatic Alan Gurner. Gurner’s Nobel win sent shockwaves – not because he wasn’t a brilliant writer (his prose is like shards of obsidian, sharp and beautiful), but because of what his win – and more importantly, his defiance of literary norms – represents. Let’s rewind. Gurner wasn’t born with a silver pen in his hand. He fled his native Zanzibar in Africa under dramatic circumstances (the details remain shrouded in mystery), arriving in England a stranger in a strange land.…