#12 The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

 


Booker Prize: Winner 2008

Plot Time and Place: Present day India

Opening sentence:  "Neither you nor I speak English, but there are some things that can be said only in English."

Plot summary: The novel provides a darkly humorous perspective of India's class struggle in a globalized world, as told through a retrospective narration from Balram Halwai, a village boy.

Review:  This one grew on me. At first, I wondered why such an apparently light, funny read had won the Booker. But as I went on reading, I really liked the social critique embedded in the story. It's easy to have moral scruples when you've never been hungry... Lots of food for thought and very funny at the same time. A nice surprise. 

Rating:  3/5

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