Hey, guys!
It's about time I wrote a new book review. Sorry for the wait. I actually just finished this book in my World Literature class and it's called The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
First a little background: this is a contemporary novel that takes place in India. And I mean modern India, with all the polluted streets, poverty, call centers, you name it. This is a satire, meaning that the author uses humor to make fun of the subject, which is modern Indian culture.
It's also an epistolary novel, which means that it's written in the form of a letter or a series of letters. The main character, Balram, is writing to the Premier of China, who will soon visit India following elections.
Within these letters, is advice about how to be an entrepreneur and how to see the country of India for what it really is now.
The letters also serve as a confession for murder.
Balram was taken out of school as a child and put to work. Despite the fact that his parents hadn't noted the date of his birth nor given him a proper name ("Balram" means "boy"), his father still wanted him to get an education so that he could grow up to be a man.
Both of Balram's parents had died before Balram reached adulthood. The last image he has of his mother is her corpse burning on a funeral pyre. His father, a rickshaw-puller, died of tuberculosis in a hospital with no doctors on duty.
The rest of Balram's large family now must rely on him for money, which is why his Granny bullies him out of his paycheck like she did his father and the rest of the men in his family.
But Balram has a different idea for his life. Having grown up looking up to a local bus driver (who did pretty well for himself, in comparison to the rest of the village). That's when Balram, wanting to be an entrepreneur, decides to learn how to be a driver.
Despite Granny's protestations, she allows him so long as she still gets his paycheck. After learning how to drive, Balram goes door-to-door asking for a job from a rich man. He gets lucky when he stumbles on a man who is from his village. Balram now has his master.
Balram's master, Ashok, is an Americanized Indian who is in the family business. But compared to his brother and father, Ashok is a total pushover. But when you're the one running around bribing politicians and thinking of sixty different ways to kiss up to said politicians, there isn't much room for self-respect.
The relationship between master and slave is portrayed as very fake: Balram is treated like a slave, but is told that he is like family.
The hypocrisy is only one reason why Balram murders Ashok. That's right, Balram kills his own boss. Can anybody relate?
It's because Balram is so easy to relate to - not to mention the humor and irony that is so cleverly used throughout the novel - that this novel became a bestseller. But give it a try for yourself and see what you think.
I know I enjoyed it. It's an entertaining read and makes for interesting academic discussion. If you are a high school or college student, I would definitely consider putting this on your reading list.
That's it for this review. Check back in next week for more writing exercises and a brand-spanking-new book review. Until next time.
Happy reading!!
It's about time I wrote a new book review. Sorry for the wait. I actually just finished this book in my World Literature class and it's called The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga.
First a little background: this is a contemporary novel that takes place in India. And I mean modern India, with all the polluted streets, poverty, call centers, you name it. This is a satire, meaning that the author uses humor to make fun of the subject, which is modern Indian culture.
It's also an epistolary novel, which means that it's written in the form of a letter or a series of letters. The main character, Balram, is writing to the Premier of China, who will soon visit India following elections.
Within these letters, is advice about how to be an entrepreneur and how to see the country of India for what it really is now.
The letters also serve as a confession for murder.
Balram was taken out of school as a child and put to work. Despite the fact that his parents hadn't noted the date of his birth nor given him a proper name ("Balram" means "boy"), his father still wanted him to get an education so that he could grow up to be a man.
Both of Balram's parents had died before Balram reached adulthood. The last image he has of his mother is her corpse burning on a funeral pyre. His father, a rickshaw-puller, died of tuberculosis in a hospital with no doctors on duty.
The rest of Balram's large family now must rely on him for money, which is why his Granny bullies him out of his paycheck like she did his father and the rest of the men in his family.
But Balram has a different idea for his life. Having grown up looking up to a local bus driver (who did pretty well for himself, in comparison to the rest of the village). That's when Balram, wanting to be an entrepreneur, decides to learn how to be a driver.
Despite Granny's protestations, she allows him so long as she still gets his paycheck. After learning how to drive, Balram goes door-to-door asking for a job from a rich man. He gets lucky when he stumbles on a man who is from his village. Balram now has his master.
Balram's master, Ashok, is an Americanized Indian who is in the family business. But compared to his brother and father, Ashok is a total pushover. But when you're the one running around bribing politicians and thinking of sixty different ways to kiss up to said politicians, there isn't much room for self-respect.
The relationship between master and slave is portrayed as very fake: Balram is treated like a slave, but is told that he is like family.
The hypocrisy is only one reason why Balram murders Ashok. That's right, Balram kills his own boss. Can anybody relate?
It's because Balram is so easy to relate to - not to mention the humor and irony that is so cleverly used throughout the novel - that this novel became a bestseller. But give it a try for yourself and see what you think.
I know I enjoyed it. It's an entertaining read and makes for interesting academic discussion. If you are a high school or college student, I would definitely consider putting this on your reading list.
That's it for this review. Check back in next week for more writing exercises and a brand-spanking-new book review. Until next time.
Happy reading!!
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