Synopsis:Born in a village in heartland India, the son of a rickshaw puller, Balram is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he crushes coals and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape – of breaking away from the banks of Mother Ganga, into whose depths have seeped the remains of a hundred generations.
The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Balram’s journey from darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral, brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable.
Review:
The book is written in the form of Balram writing a series of letters to the premier of China, who is due to visit the country. The book describes modern India and refers to the deprived areas as ‘the darkness’, where the lower classes live. It highlights the differences between these lower classes and the landlords and how, by taking drastic action which is hinted at towards the front of the book, Balram is able to rise from the role of servant to become an entrepreneur making money of his own.
The book is a page turner with a very easy writing style and is a very enjoyable read. I like the way the story is presented via the series of letters.
On reflection I am not sure whether or not it would make for an interesting book group discussion. There is certainly enough material in there to get you thinking, but maybe not enough if you have already discussed another novel set in India. However I think I would need a second opinion on that.
Your reading is reaching new heights, Cherie.
I used to have lots of reviews I had done for my book group, but the place they were hosted got removed and they were lost in the mystic ethers.
They will br writing books on Britain like that soon.
It doesn’t bear thinking about…
A book about following your dreams. I like it.
He did follow his dreams but he had to take drastic measures.
My second opinion is that you are completely mad:-)
Nevertheless, it does sound like an interesting book and may make a good Xmas present for a friend.
Moi! Mad?
I would be interested what the other people in my book group think of the story. They rarely like the books I choose LOL.
I wondered about that. Sometimes that does seem the case; nothing good is for free.
I guess you are right there. Good things have to be earned
I envy you having the time to read so many books. I only managed to read 1 1/2 books out of the four I took with me on my hols.
I seem to be reading rather a lot at the moment, mostly in my half hour lunch times. I still have a big backlog of books to read.