I think E.M.Forster should have won one, he was nominated for 16 times or something (can’t remember the exact number), and I really like his style. His stories might not be very creative plot-wise, but I like the themes he dealt with and the subtlety in his writing, and I always find his characters’ thoughts and emotions so relatable, in a ‘that’s exactly what I want to say only I couldn’t express it so well’ sort of way. My favourite novel by him is A Room with a View, and I’ll always have a soft spot for George and Lucy and Florence.
Kafka, Musil, or Döblin. All better than Mann in my opinion.
Proust (Gide’s rejection of Du côté de chez Swann must have played a part)—-in my mind top three best writers ever, Céline (huge influence on the beatniks, and on Bukowski), and Houellebecq (the most influential writer alive, but hated by the identitary left) are also deserving of the Prize.
I would also mention Bolaño, both Los detectives salvajes and 2666 (especially La parte de Archimboldi, which is sublime) are masterpieces.