Booker Prize Roundup: Animal's People

Of all the books on this year's Booker shortlist, the least familiar to me is Indra Sinha's Animal's People. It turns out to be a novel drawn from the author's own experiences in the aftermath of the Bhopal Union Carbide gas tragedy of 1984 (for information, click here).

Sindha founded the Bhopal Medical Appeal (bhopal.org) in 1994, and his novel is drawn from the stories of the people he met. The title's Animal is in fact a man, scarred and bent double since the events of "That Night." When the book opens Animal says, "I used to be human once." By its end, his people have helped him learn to find his humanity once again. The Indian Express called his story "a novel so honest that it leaves you gasping for breath."

There's been no announcement of an American edition of Animal's People as yet. Excerpts are available on Sinha's website.--David E