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The White Tiger

By Aravind Adiga

(267)

| Paperback | 9781843547228

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Book Description

Winning the Man Booker prize is something that most authors dream of, although -- ironically -- the reputation of the prize itself was under siege a few years ago. Books that won the award were acquiring a reputation of being difficult and inaccessible, but those days appear to be over -- and unarguContinue

Winning the Man Booker prize is something that most authors dream of, although -- ironically -- the reputation of the prize itself was under siege a few years ago. Books that won the award were acquiring a reputation of being difficult and inaccessible, but those days appear to be over -- and unarguable proof may be found in the 2008 winner, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Apart from its considerable literary merit, the novel is the most compelling of pageturners (in the old-fashioned sense of that phrase) and offers a picture of modern India that is as evocative as it is unflattering. The protagonist, too, is drawn in the most masterly of fashion.

Balram Halwai, the eponymous ‘white tiger’, is a diminutive, overweight ex-teashop worker who now earns his living as a chauffeur. But this is only one side of his protean personality; he deals in confidence scams, over-ambitious business promotions (built on the shakiest of foundations) and enjoys approaching life with a philosophical turn of mind. But is Balram also a murderer? We learn the answer as we devour these 500 odd pages. Born into an impoverished family, Balram is removed from school by his parents in order to earn money in a thankless job: shop employee. He is forced into banal, mind-numbing work. But Balram dreams of escaping -- and a chance arises when a well-heeled village landlord takes him on as a chauffeur for his son (although the duties involve transporting the latter's wife and two Pomeranian dogs). From the rich new perspective offered to him in this more interesting job, Balram discovers New Delhi, and a vision of the city changes his life forever. His learning curve is very steep, and he quickly comes to believe that the way to the top is by the most expedient means. And if that involves committing the odd crime of violence, he persuades himself that this is what successful people must do.

The story of the amoral protagonist at the centre of this fascinating narrative is, of course, what keeps the reader comprehensively gripped, but perhaps the real achievement of the book is in its picture of two Indias: the bleak, soul-destroying poverty of village life and the glittering prizes to be found in the big city. The book cleverly avoids fulfilling any of the expectations a potential reader might have -- except that of instructing and entertaining.

Critics

  • His monster's voice

    The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga 321pp, Atlantic, £12.99 Balram Halwai, the narrator of The White Tiger, is not going to let a lack of education keep him in the dark. He is heading for glory in India's bright future; he will be one of those who stuff ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

  • The White Tiger

    I'm now going to say how brilliantly Kerry Shale reads the new Man Booker prize winner about a ruthless rickshaw-puller's son from a Ganges village who, by hook or by crook (mostly crook), becomes a Bangalore millionaire - with an Indian accent. How ... (read full critics)

    guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

29 Reviews

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  • 4 people find this helpful

    2 stars may be too little, this is not a bad book (besides, who am I to destroy the booker prize winner anyway?). mr Adiga shows us his India: the un-holy, un-mystic, un-saibaba and un-motherteresa India that very few have revealed and fewer wish to discover. his pretext is captivating: Balram, the ... (continue)

    2 stars may be too little, this is not a bad book (besides, who am I to destroy the booker prize winner anyway?). mr Adiga shows us his India: the un-holy, un-mystic, un-saibaba and un-motherteresa India that very few have revealed and fewer wish to discover. his pretext is captivating: Balram, the entrepreneur, the servant, the driver...him, Munna ("boy" as everyone called him before the regime gave him a name) will lead the president of the Republic of China through an amazing 7-nights long journey towards the discovery of the true Indian entrepreneurship.
    "now, mr. premier, every day thousands of foreigners fly into my country for enlightenment. they go to himalaya, or the benaras, or to bodh gaya. they get into weird poses of yoga, smoke hashish, shag a sadhu or two, and think they are getting enlightened. ha!"
    this book provides a whole new perspective and is a nice story, witty and well written. problem is, after Shantaram, everything about India has been said.

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    disastrino said on Feb 25, 2009 | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    A book that shows the dark side of India. The inequality between the rich and the poor, the problematic and implicit rules deep-rooted in the economic and political world, and the corruption of the society and the human mind. I don't know what has corrupted the mind of people living in the big citie ... (continue)

    A book that shows the dark side of India. The inequality between the rich and the poor, the problematic and implicit rules deep-rooted in the economic and political world, and the corruption of the society and the human mind. I don't know what has corrupted the mind of people living in the big cities. Maybe just as what Balram commented in the book: the city corrupted his master who used to have good virtues. But Balram might not notice the city has corrupted him as well. Well, maybe I shouldn't call it a corruption. Maybe that's the most efficient form of education after all, as his exposure in city transformed him on one side to be a murderer; on the other side, to be a successful entrepreneur with visions and big plans. The temptations of a modern life, the feeling of being locked in a cage, the realization of how the poor being deprived by the rich. All of the above are the substances of Balram's education received in Dehli.
    This is the side of Indian I may not want to know, and the human mind depicted in the book is too amoral too be true. What are people thinking behind their smiling faces? I thought of my trip to Nepal and couldn't help asking myself: what are those taxi driver thinking when they were driving me around?
    One of the most powerful books I've read in recent years.

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    Ellery said on Mar 20, 2010 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    This story kept me reading...the main character is so flawed but so interesting. I think everyone can relate one way or another.

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    Marc Cygnus said on Oct 23, 2009 | Add your feedback

  • Not as nearly enthusiastic as the comments on the book cover. But reading it in India helped to understand a lot of details. What Adiga portraits is the dark India, the one without the amazing colors. The poor India, the dirty India. Just what I've seen in Delhi. Adiga digs deeply in the socio-polit ... (continue)

    Not as nearly enthusiastic as the comments on the book cover. But reading it in India helped to understand a lot of details. What Adiga portraits is the dark India, the one without the amazing colors. The poor India, the dirty India. Just what I've seen in Delhi. Adiga digs deeply in the socio-political context, and that's where the book works very well. The main plot, with the assassination and the escape, failed to catch me. And I felt the last 20 pages a drag to the end, kind of like even Adiga was tired.

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    Gekko P. said on Oct 26, 2011 | Add your feedback

  • Aravind Adiga has done a terrific job writing a novel that provides deep insight into the true face of India. It is a powerful and realistic satire that exposes the systemic corruption and the plight of the poor. I especially admire Adiga's humourous prose and linguistic flair:

    "Like eunuchs d ... (continue)

    Aravind Adiga has done a terrific job writing a novel that provides deep insight into the true face of India. It is a powerful and realistic satire that exposes the systemic corruption and the plight of the poor. I especially admire Adiga's humourous prose and linguistic flair:

    "Like eunuchs discussing the Kuma Sutra, the voters discuss the elections in Laxmangarh."

    "A handful of men in this country have trained the remaining 99.9 to exist in perpetual servitude; a servitude so strong that you can put the key of his emancipation in a man's hands and he will throw it back at you with a curse."

    "Do we loathe our masters behind a facade of love - or do we love them behind a facade of loathing?"

    Still, I can't bring myself to love this book. However enlightening the story is, I just can't feel any sympathy for Balram (the main character). Yes he is a poor guy oppressed in every way, but he is also an opportunistic, cold-blooded murderer. I half-expected him to show remorse at the end, but no, he gloats over his successful career as if his master deserves to be killed mercilessly. I just can't accept that. I can't like a book in which the protagonist is totally unlikable.

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    Holmes said on Aug 15, 2011 | Add your feedback

  • you will never look at your driver with the same eyes...ironic, deep, hilarious at time. a must read!

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    ziacri said on Jun 14, 2011 | Add your feedback

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9781843547228 Paperback $12.86 $10.77 The Book Depository
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