Madrid - Novelist Juan Marse, 75, was Thursday awarded the Cervantes Prize, regarded as the literature Nobel of the Spanish-speaking world, Spanish Culture Minister Cesar Antonio Molina announced in Madrid.

Marse, whose novels are often set in his home city Barcelona, was chosen because of his "capacity to reflect post-war Spain," the jury said.

Marse dropped out of school at age 13 and became a jeweller's apprentice after his adoptive father was jailed for being a leftist during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

Marse later became one of the youngest members of the so-called 50s Generation, which denounced poverty and social injustice.

He made his literary breakthrough with Encerrados con un Solo Juguete (Locked Up with a Single Toy) in 1960.

Si Te Dicen que Cai (If They Tell You I Fell) was banned by the Franco regime and published in Mexico.

Marse's novels have been translated into several languages, and he has won national and international awards.

Several of Marse's novels have been turned into films, including El Amante Bilingue (The Bilingual Lover), El Embrujo de Shanghai (The Shanghai Spell) and La Muchacha de las Bragas de Oro (Girl with Golden Panties).

The Cervantes Prize is worth 125,000 euros (160,000 dollars), 35,000 euros more than in 2007, when it was given to Argentine poet Juan Gelman.