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By Amitav Ghosh
Aravind Adiga upset his countrymen with a portrayal of India as a country of corruption and servitude. The author was undaunted: ‘Fortunately, the political class doesn’t read.’
Adiga, 33 at the time of his win, was uncomfortable with the brouhaha that accompanies the prize: ‘Once you have written a book like The White Tiger,’ he vouchsafed, ‘it’s very hard to escape from the shadow of it. I was frightened The White Tiger would eat me up too.’
Adiga escaped its clutches with three subsequent, highly-praised novels. His prize-winning book, detailing the rise of an unscrupulous Indian village boy from poverty to riches, was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film.
Winner The Booker Prize 2008
By Amitav Ghosh
By Linda Grant
By Steve Toltz