Indian novelist Aravind Adiga wins Booker prize

Adiga8217;s novel was described as a 8220;compelling, angry and darkly humorous8221; novel about a man8217;s journey from Indian village life to entrepreneurial success. It was described by one reviewer as an 8220;unadorned portrait8221; of India seen 8220;from the bottom of the heap8221;.

Adiga, who wanted to be a novelist since he was a boy, was born in Madras now known as Chennai and now lives in Mumbai.

He becomes the fifth Indian author to win the prize, joining V S Naipaul, Salman Rushdie, Arundhati Roy and Kiran Desai who won the prize in 1971, 1981, 1997 and 2006 respectively.

In addition, 8220;The White Tiger8221; is the ninth winning novel to take its inspiration from India or Indian identity.

His book, 8220;The White Tiger8221;, has been published by Atlantic Books and has already won rave reviews.

Michael Portillo, chairman of the judges, said: 8220;In many ways it was the perfect novel.

8220;The judges found the decision difficult because the shortlist contained such strong candidates. In the end, The White Tiger prevailed because the judges felt that it shocked and entertained in equal measure.

8220;The novel undertakes the extraordinarily difficult task of gaining and holding the reader8217;s sympathy for a thoroughgoing villain. The book gains from dealing with pressing social issues and significant global developments with astonishing humour.8221;

Portillo went on to explain that the novel had won overall because of 8220;its originality8221;. He said that 8220;The White Tiger8221; presented 8220;a different aspect of India8221; and was a novel with 8220;enormous literary merit8221;.

Adiga had been given odds of 7/1 before the ceremony by bookmakers William Hill. Irish writer Barry had been tipped to take the prize at 7/4. The bookmakers8217; favourite has not won since Yann Martel in 2002.

Adiga was born on October 23, 1974 and raised partly in Australia. He studied at Columbia and Oxford Universities and is a former correspondent for TIME magazine in India.

His articles have appeared in publications such as the 8216;Financial Times8217;, 8216;Independent8217; and 8216;Sunday Times8217;.

Adiga8217;s book 8220;The White Tiger8221;, a tale of two Indias, tells the story of Balram, the son of a rickshaw puller in the heartlands, one of the 8220;faceless8221; poor left behind by the country8217;s recent economic boom.

It charts his journey from working in a teashop to entrepreneurial success.

The award, which honours the best fiction written in English by an author from the UK, Ireland or the Commonwealth nations, was handed out at the Guildhall in London.

The win means Adiga can expect an upturn in sales and added recognition.