doc_text: Japanese writer Kazuo Ishiguro won the 1989 Booker Prize, Britain's top literary award, for his novel "The Remains of the Day," judges announced Thursday.
  The prize is worth $32,000.
  Judges praised the novel, a love story about a butler's English vacation, as "a cunningly structured and beautifully paced performance."
  Other finalists this year were Canadian Margaret Atwood for "Cat's Eye," Irish author John Banville for "Book of Evidence," Scotland's James Kelman for "A Disaffection" and English writers Sybille Bedford for "Jigsaw" and Rose Tremain for "Restoration."
  After receiving the prize, Ishiguro paid tribute to Salman Rushdie, the 1988 runner-up for the award, who went into hiding in February when he was threatened with death by Moslems who said his novel "The Satanic Verses" blasphemed their faith.
  "Now that circumstances have changed, when perhaps it is inconvenient for many people to support his writing, I just felt it was fitting that we should not turn our backs on him," Ishiguro said.
  Rushdie lives in England.
  Ishiguro, 39, arrived in England at age 6 and now lives in south London.
  He writes in English.
  In announcing the winner, the judges said: "`The Remains of the Day' renders with humor and pathos a memorable character and explores the large, vexed themes of class, tradition and duty.
  It was narrowly preferred but universally admired."
  Ishiguro was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 1986 for his novel "An Artist of the Floating World."
  The Booker Prize is sponsored by Booker, an international food and agriculture business.
summary_text: Japanese writer Kazuo Ishiguro won the 1989 Booker Prize, Britain's top literary award, for his novel, "The Remains of the Day", a love story about a butler's English vacation.
  It explores the vexed themes of class, tradition, and duty.
  Ishiguro, 39, arrived in England at age 6 and now lives in south London.
  He was a finalist for the Booker Prize in 1986.
  After receiving the prize, Ishiguro paid tribute to Salmon Rushdie, the 1988 runner-up for the award, who went into hiding in February when threatened with death by Moslems who said his novel, "The Satanic Verses" blasphemed their faith.