Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Aravind Adiga Wins Booker Prize

I listed the Booker Prize Finalists September 10. From the Booker Prize website:

Now in its 40th year, the prize aims to reward the best novel of the year written by a citizen of the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. The Man Booker judges are selected from the country's finest critics, writers and academics to maintain the consistent excellence of the prize. The winner of the Man Booker Prize receives £50,000 and both the winner and the shortlisted authors are guaranteed a worldwide readership plus a dramatic increase in book sales.


Today Aravind Adiga was announced as the winner for "The White Tiger."

From the BBC:

The chairman of the judges, former politician Michael Portillo, said: "In many ways it was the perfect novel."

The White Tiger, a tale of two Indias, tells the story of Balram, the son of a rickshaw puller in the heartlands, one of the "faceless" poor left behind by the country's recent economic boom.

It charts his journey from working in a teashop to entrepreneurial success.

Announcing the winner at a ceremony in London, Mr Portillo said: "My criteria were 'Does it knock my socks off?' and this one did ... the others impressed me ... this one knocked my socks off."


You can watch a brief video with the winner on the BBC site.

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