It seems like I'm late to the party but I've just noticed that my post from late last night congratulating Aravind Adiga on his Booker prize win with The White Tiger seems to have dissipated into the ether. However though I was surprised at the decision (and have lost my £10 thus keeping my 100% record of never choosing the winner intact) I'm in no way disappointed now I've thought about it and re-read my earlier thoughts here.
Potted extract -
'There is much more going on beneath the so-called sardonic surface here, in fact a stark message about just how deeply ingrained poverty can blight the spirit, disempower and subdue any form of insurgence and lead to desperate measures in order to escape its clutches. Aravind Adiga places the 'new morality at the heart of the new India' under the starkest of glaring spotlights and finds it seriously wanting.This is an eye-opening read and start to finish I couldn't fault it, making it most worthy of inclusion on my shortlist.'
Congratulations also to publisher Atlantic Books who seem to be in the ascendency with some superlative reads on my shelves at the moment, currently Blood Kin by Ceridwen Dovey but also recently The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway and The Impostor by Damon Galgut.
That's that over with for another year.
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