Thursday, January 14, 2016

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga



I enjoyed this story.  I don’t find it a coincidence that I just finished reading a few books by Salman Rushdie who was born in India. This is the author’s first novel and it was great for a first.

The main character, Balram Halwai comes from the “darkness” neighborhood in India.  Balram gets hired as a driver for a wealthy man in his village and he gets paid a lot of money.  Balram is able to send money home to take care of his family.  And then he stops.  Corruption, murder, caste systems and poverty fill this tale told in seven days to the Premier of China who is scheduled to visit India.

Balram sums up destiny in India – eat or get eaten up.  Balram explains the scenario to the Prime Minister that if a taxi driver finds a case with diamonds in his taxi, he will make every effort to return it to the owner by reporting the loss to the police.  It’s the police who do not have the integrity to return lost property! 

No comments: