Animal's People: A Novel

Set in a loosely fictionalized version of Bhopal, India, in the wake of the 1984 explosion at a Union Carbide pesticide plant, Indra Sinha's wonderful novel was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, and it's no mystery why. As this unique, and uniquely untrustworthy, narrator divulges his life story, the resulting knee-high vista opens up a heart-breaking and unforgettable world. --Jason Kirk