British author Julian Barnes on Tuesday won the Man Booker Prize for his novel "The Sense of Ending," which tells the story of a 60-something-year-old man who revisits his past to discover his memories are flawed.

Barnes, who had been nominated three times prior to his win, picked up the award of 57,000 pounds (65,000 euros/$90,000), for which he beat out two Canadian authors, Patrick deWitt and Stephen Kelman.

Addressing the audience assembled at the Guildhall in central London, Barnes said he was "as much relieved as I am delighted," in reference to his near wins in 1984, 1998 and 2005.

A 'readable' masterpiece

The panel of judges was headed by former MI5 spy chief-turned-thriller writer Stella Rimington, who made no apologies about the controversial focus on "readable" novels in this year's shortlist.

Revealing the winner, Rimington said the 150-page book was "beautifully written."

"We thought it was a book that spoke to humankind in the 21st century," she told the audience.

Jon Howells from the British bookstore chain Waterstone's called Barnes a "worthy winner," adding, "This is not right winner, wrong book syndrome. 'The Sense of an Ending' is a brilliant novel, one that turns in the reader's head long after finishing."

'Lowered standards'

The criteria of this year's Man Booker Prize, one of the English-speaking world's highest-profile literary awards, raised criticism from some that the contest had become too populist. A group calling itself "The Advisory Board of the Literature Prize" has vowed to compete with the Booker as a new benchmark of literary taste.

Its "Literature Prize" will be open to novels by American authors in the search for the "best novel written in the English language and published in the UK in a given year."

The Man Booker Prize, founded in 1969 and sponsored by financial services conglomerate Man Group PLC, is open to authors from the UK, Ireland, Zimbabwe and the 54-nation Commonwealth of former British colonies.

Author: David Levitz (AFP, AP, dpa)

Editor: Martin Kuebler