In 2008, Aravind Adiga‘s debut novel – The White Tiger – won the Booker prize. It’s a brilliant book, but not crime fiction, although there is a killing in it. Rather it is a story of India in the very recent past. In places it’s difficult to read, but I found it mesmerising and I’m very happy to give it 5-Stars.
The White Tiger is the story of a young boy, Balram Halwai, who grows to adulthood as a member of the very poor and downtrodden. Despite being the brightest boy in the village and able to read and write, his family is too poor for him to finish school, so he works at a number of menial jobs. He also learns how to drive and gets his break when a rich man hires him as a chauffeur.
We then follow his life as a servant – almost a slave – in New Delhi, until an act of such casual cruelty makes him take action and get himself away and set up with a better life.
My verdict
What is portrayed very clearly in this book is a deeply corrupt society, a massive illiterate population and an almost unimaginably vast country. One thing that Balram struggles with the most is the attitude towards the lower class … that they are worth nothing and must at all times bow to the better off. Worse, there are few opportunities for anyone at the bottom of the pile to work towards a better life.
I realise this might sound as if it is a depressing book, but in fact it isn’t. It’s written with such a light hand and with humour so I just couldn’t stop reading.
Even having read this I find it difficult to get a picture in my mind of India. The country is too big for that. But the anthill that is New Delhi is very vividly described, as is the dunghill which is Balram’s home village, populated by downtrodden people and ruled by a ruthless ‘boss’.
At the end there is light; elections happen and a better future may be in the pipeline. The reader can but hope that’s true. I found this a hard read, but it is utterly riveting and I can only give it 5-Stars.
Review by: Freyja
What’s in a Star? In our book 5 Stars = “Outstanding and unforgettable. A book you can’t wait to tell others about.”