Paul Beatty on Tuesday became the first US author to win the Man Booker Prize, with his satirical novel "The Sellout." The novel, which examines modern race relations in the United States and follows the consequences of the shooting of a black man by police, was called a "novel of our time" by the judges, according to dpa. "I wasn't expecting this I have to say," Beatty said, visibly becoming emotional as he accepted the award at a ceremony in London. "I can't tell you guys how long a journey this has been for me." "I don't want to get all dramatic ... but writing's given me a life," he continued. The judges said the book "takes aim at racial and political taboos with wit, verve and a snarl." Beatty's narrator, who as a child is the subject of his father's racially charged psychological experiments, ends up in the Supreme Court as he attempts to reinstate segregation. "The Sellout" is Beatty's fourth novel, following on from "Slumberland," "Tuff," and "The White Boy Shuffle." He has also published two volumes of poetry. Los Angeles-born Beatty, 54, was presented with the award by the duchess of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles. The Man Booker Prize, which last year was won by Jamaican Marlon James for his novel "A Brief History of Seven Killings," is one of the most internationally renowned awards in English literature and was launched in 1969.
