literature prize?

I finished Kiran Desai's book The Inheritance over the Christmas period and no, it didn't do it for me. I don't know, like her mother (Anita Desai) I just don't feel the connection. Maybe I've simply been too distracted to be able to concentrate on it.
Which makes me think.
Why are the books which are often nominated for literature prizes often quite difficult? It's almost as if they are meant for people who don't have anything on their minds but reading. I admit I get very easily distracted and if a book doesn't capture me, my mind will wander.
Are their prizes out there for good books which are still written well and don't take up all of your time just to try to understand what that first sentence on the first page actually means and not just the basic meaning? Or do they all have to follow certain rules?
Of course there are always exceptions, The White Tiger for example by Aravind Adiga was one of those books, exciting, well written, funny and a good story line which made you think.

Who has time to sit and read a book with loads of underlying meanings, heavy language, and confusing and depressing plots. Who, outside of the literature scene, had even heard of Herta Muller before she won the Nobel Literature prize? Fair enough if it's your job then it's understandable, but what about the rest of us who are trying to catch up.
We have a long way to go. There are a lot of books which need to be read as well as understood. Sure I can read them, but I have no idea what they're about...

These literature prizes influence us way too much.