The Booker Shortlist

The shortlist for the Booker prize was announced earlier today, and to my surprise and excitement, The White Tiger, a novel I thoroughly enjoyed, is in the mix. The novel is written by debut novelist Aravind Adiga, and is told from the perspective of Balram Halwai, a driver for a wealthy Delhi family. The book is a glimpse in the underbelly of Indian society, and is written in a realistic and dark tone, and often switches between moments of hilarity and disturbing tragedy. Adiga is not the only South Asian to be featured on the short list. Acclaimed author Amitav Ghosh is also on the shortlist for his new novel, Sea of Poppies, suprisingly for the first time. Ghosh is noted for being on of the strongest writers from the subcontinent, and has written several novels and nonfiction books. Though I haven't read Sea of Poppies, I have been told that it is excellent and epic (it is the first in a projected trilogy). Salman Rushdie, Michelle de Kretser, and Mohammed Hanif made the longlist, but unfortunately did not progress to the prize's shortlist. In addition, Joseph O'Neil's Netherland, which deals with issues of immigration in NYC, often from a Desi perspective, which was heavily favored to win the prize, also did not make it to the shortlist. The full shortlist consists of:

Aravind Adiga (The White Tiger), Sebastian Barry (The Secret Scripture), Amitav Ghosh (Sea of Poppies), Linda Grant (The Clothes on Their Backs), Philip Hensher (The Northern Clemency) and Steve Toltz (A Fraction of the Whole).

The winner will be announced on October 14th.