The White Tiger wins Man Booker Prize 2008 !

Hello Humanoids . It's a great news and a moment of proud for people living in India because Aravind Adiga just won a Booker ( Fiction )  for his critically and commercially acclaimed novel : The White Tiger .

So what's the story all about ?

Born in a village in heartland India, the son of a rickshaw puller, Balram is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he crushes coals and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape - of breaking away from the banks of Mother Ganga, into whose depths have seeped the remains of a hundred generations.

The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Balram’s journey from darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral, brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable.

Looks Interesting ! Now i am curious to know about the author himself !

Aravind Adiga was born in Madras in 1974 and was raised partly in Australia. He studied at Columbia and Oxford Universities. A former correspondent in India for TIME magazine, his articles have also appeared in publications like The Financial Times, The Independent, and The Sunday Times. He lives in Mumbai.

The publishers must be jumping with joy ! ?

Obviously , The win is a first for publisher Atlantic; although they had books shortlisted for the prize in 2003 with The Good Doctor by Damon Galgut, and in 2004 with Bitter Fruit by Achmat Dangor.

The Cover Page Looks like this :


Who all were shortlisted with Aaravind Adiga 's novel for the Booker's ?

  • Sebastian Barry : The Secret Scripture
  • Amitav Ghosh : Sea of Poppies
  • Linda Grant : The Clothes on Their Backs
  • Philip Hensher : The Northern Clemency
  • Steve ToltzA :  Fraction of the Whole
  •  
Indian's seem to do well at Booker's , right ?
Yes  ,though  partially true  . Adiga is the fourth Indian born-author to win the prize, joining compatriots Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai who won the prize in 1981, 1997 and 2006 respectively.

 I need Some Facts !
Adiga becomes the fourth debut novelist, and the second Indian debut novelist, to win the award in the forty year history of the prize.


So how much does the Winner and Runner up Authors get ?


The Winner gets jaw dropping   £50,000   .  Yes read it again and again  ,  after this he would never need a job and would survive the financial crisis that's been going on these days without any worries , what so ever .
The Runner ups ( which are 5 in Total )  get   £2,500 and a designer-bound edition of their book . Well at least they got something for free , unlike you !


 So that's all about the Man Booker Prize , will keep you further updated with more results . Untill then watch this video where Aravind Adiga speaks on his win   :



So that was yet another India shining moment , I hope they keep coming in like this forever !

Take Care ,