Book Review: The White Tiger

The White Tiger
by
Aravind Adiga
Balram Halwai comes from the impoverished village of Laxmangarh, in India. He secures a job chauffeuring a rich landlord’s nephew around Delhi. Balram tells his story through a series of letters written over seven nights to the Chinese premier who is expected to visit India. We see the story through his eyes and we know right from the beginning that he has killed his employer, his master. He then takes the money that was intended for bribing Indian officials and uses it as a nest egg for his own entrepreneurial activities. Balram is a clever and resourceful narrator with a witty and sarcastic edge that endears him to readers, even as he rails about corruption, allows himself to be defiled by his bosses, spews coarse invective and eventually profits from moral ambiguity and outright criminality. Even when does bad things, we can’t help but pull for him. 2008 Man Booker Award Winner
February 18, 2009 12:16 PM

No comments:

Post a Comment