White Tiger wins Man Booker Prize

Arvind Adiga is this year's Man Booker winner. I really loved White Tiger. It was an extremely observant - and cutting - piece of writing and was a story that needed to be told. I know that not everyone loved it. Many people were incensed that Salman Rushdie did not make the shortlist or that Sebastian Barry did not ultimately win. I read Rushdie's Enchantress of Florence, which was beautiful. But I feel White Tiger was just, overall, a better, fresher book. Although the class issue is one that people tend to role their eyes at, or respond to with a quick "tsk tsk," the entire story is engaging and is carried by the sharp and ironic tone! Maybe it's just because I came back from India, but Adiga's story struck me as being the most true depiction of what's going on in India. Other people may have tried, but always romanticize the situation or victimize the poor class.

I love when books like this win. Sales have already shot, which means more people will read...

My point for going on and on like this: Books like White Tiger, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, etc. - these are the books that inspire me - they are great social commentary that make waves. They shape the readers' understanding of an issue. I want to write a book like that...