The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize) | 
 enlarge | Author: Aravind Adiga
Publisher: Free Press
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  65 reviews
Sales Rank: 58
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.7
ISBN: 1416562605
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9781416562603
ASIN: 1416562605
Publication Date: October 14, 2008
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Product Description
Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along. Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive. Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations. Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 60 more reviews...
 Extremely well written, complex characters November 21, 2008
Adiga's "White Tiger" is compelling and extremely well-written. For some reason, I had a hard time getting involved at first, but the quality of the prose eventually pulled me in. I blame the initial hurdle on myself rather than on Adiga, however, as this isn't normally the type of book I read. In fact, I bumped my initial four-star review up to five, because I was won over despite my own reluctance. Looking back, this is almost entirely because the writing itself drew me in, and captivated me despite my own initial disinterest in the topic. No wonder it won a Booker :-)
The bittersweet transition from dark to light, which is the escape of familial and cultural oppression into the grip of class oppression is powerful and well portrayed. The protagonist and grows as he transitions from villager to the driver of a powerful boss, and then again as he discovers corruption and disgrace in his new position. For a first time author, this is exceptional. I'm deliberately keeping this review short, because I don't want to give away too many of the nuances of the story by talking about them here: suffice it to say that White Tiger is enjoyable as both a character study, a cultural study, and as a novel - especially towards the end when (again, not to give anything away) things turn a bit darker, and more exciting.
 white tiger review November 20, 2008
though the book was quite entertaining. coming from india myself it held no surprises really. not sure why it won a prize, but perhaps there wan't much else out there!
a good read November 20, 2008
Hearing on PBS that Aravind Adiga had won the Man Booker Prize for this his first novel, and that he was only the second person to win this prize for his first novel, I decided that this was a book to read. I assume you have almost made a similar decision but are reading this review before completely committing yourself. If you wish to cut to the chase, buy it, read it - but I will go on. At the tail end of my copy of The White Tiger is the transcript of an interview with the author. At one point he states, "The main reason anyone would want to read this book, or so I hope, is because it entertains them and keeps them hooked to the end....I hope my readers will find this book fun too." Well the book kept me hooked and some moments were funny...but. The humor is black and reminds of Dickens at his best, and the background of his novel which Adiga describes as "pretty mainstream (India), trust me," has also a Dickensian cast. We find powerful and evil business men called "The Stork", "The Mongoose", etc. There are corrupt police and politicians. All could have fitted in one of Dickens novels. At the end of my copy there is a Reading Group Guide. One of the "Questions for Discussion" listed is, "Do you think of the novel, ultimately, as a cautionary tale or a hopeful one?" Take warning from this questions. A case can be made either way.
I have already suggested you read this book. It is well written with well drawn characters in an intriguing plot. It is short - 279 fast turning pages - and requires little more Hindi than one might have already picked up in an Indian restaurant. I have not told anything of its plot because I do not want to spoil any of the pleasure you will get in encountering how Mr. Adiga tells his story.
Intriguing November 20, 2008
Clever and well written. One of my favorite books in a long time. Humorous and serious at the same time, Adigo challenges us to examine the profound changes that India is experiencing not only economically, but socially.
fresh, but lacking in depth November 19, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
"The White Tiger", by the debutante novelist Aravind Adiga, is a story of a self-named Indian entrepreneur, Bikram Halwai (a.k.a. Munna,, a.k.a. The White Tiger, a.k.a Ashok Sharma), told by the protagonist himself in a form of letters to the Prime Minister of China, Wen Jiabao. During the seven nights, Bikram, like Scheherazade, weaves the story of his life, and how he came "per aspera ad astra" (at least, in his own opinion).
Bikram, born in a small village of Laxmangarh, in the district of Gaya in Northern India, is considered an intelligent boy, quickly learns to read and write, which is considered a progress in his family, where the men work hard for meager money in mundane jobs (his father is a rickshaw driver), and then have to hand the money to the women to support the extended family. Everyone works only for the family and the dream of most (Bikram included) is to become a driver of a car. Pulled out of school, Bikram is apprenticed in the tea-shop, but he learns to drive and finds a job as a driver in a wealthy family in Dhabad, a district town. His ambitions, however, only grow, when he sees how the rich live and is introduced to the worldly ways of Delhi, where he is sent with his master, Ashok, who has to solve some income tax issues with the corrupt government. Bikram's aspirations result in the murder of Ashok... (not a spoiler - Bikram reveals it at the beginning, admitting this was a beginning of his financial independence, and the rest of the novel concentrates on the events leading to the killing).
This fresh and funny novel offers a contemporary perspective of the Indian society, something new and different from most of the Indian novels, mostly because of the fact that it is told in a voice of a member of a lower caste, a "half-baked", uneducated Indian, who worms his way into some money, sacrificing his family and name. However, the observations are not very deep, somehow schematic and not new to most of the people who know anything about India. Adiga, as a journalist, manages to tackle the important social issues.
The author skillfully uses stereotypes, playing with the mix of literary influences - one can find here the echoes of many great writers, from Francis Scott Fitzgerald (the accident from "Great Gatsby" and taking the blame is reproduced with very slight changes) to George Orwell (the animal names of the village bosses). Unfortunately, these borrowings may display the author's literacy, but the novel's originality of concept suffers. This is probably the most important shortcoming; other that that, I have no criticism. Still, I think that Ghosh's novel deserved the Man Booker Prize more, but Adiga's debut shows promise and it is a good read.
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