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Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Kiran Desai wins the Booker Prize
Given that her momma, Anita Desai
, was nominated three times for it and never won, "The Inheritance of Loss
" was perhaps not the best title for a book nominated for the Booker Prize. But Kiran Desai has won the Prize, and she'll be all over the Indian media for the next month, with the whole country eager to claim her for the sake of national pride, and mentioning Rushdie and Roy in the same sentence as her. Ah, the trappings of victory.
I haven't read this book, and thought that her first one, "Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard," was entertaining but fairly amateurish. But you really can't judge a writer by their first book, or we'd know Rushdie for "Grimus." Jai says she's a nice person, and that's a good enough reason to feel happy for her -- such prizes are a bit of a lottery anyway.
, was nominated three times for it and never won, "The Inheritance of Loss" was perhaps not the best title for a book nominated for the Booker Prize. But Kiran Desai has won the Prize, and she'll be all over the Indian media for the next month, with the whole country eager to claim her for the sake of national pride, and mentioning Rushdie and Roy in the same sentence as her. Ah, the trappings of victory.I haven't read this book, and thought that her first one, "Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard
," was entertaining but fairly amateurish. But you really can't judge a writer by their first book, or we'd know Rushdie for "Grimus." Jai says she's a nice person, and that's a good enough reason to feel happy for her -- such prizes are a bit of a lottery anyway.
