The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga Friday, 29 January 2010 00:00 Written by Carole

The White Tiger takes the form of seven letters from Bangalore businessman Balram Halwai to the Chinese premier who is scheduled to visit India. In these letters, he tells his rags-to-riches story, how he overcame the poverty of the poor village in the countryside to being a success in the New India. Part of his journey involved being a driver to a rich family in New Delhi, where he learned that success often involves corruption, cruelty, and a different set of rules than those that apply to the impoverished who work for them. Balram is convinced that the miracle economies of India and China mean the end of the era of the white men. At the same time, he exposes the seamier aspects that will leave many of their populace behind.

Aravind Adiga's debut novel has received positive reviews with The Independent saying, "The truth, as it begins to emerge, is as shocking as it is fantastic. It's a rich subject, and Adiga mines all its darkly comic possibilities. Halwai's voice – wised-up, mordant, sardonic, self-mocking and utterly without illusions – is as compelling as it is persuasive, and one of the triumphs of the book."

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#2 RE: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga — Nina 2010-08-12 10:48

I never would have bought this book if it wasn't for book club but I ended up really liking it! The writing is good and witty and the commentary on India (and China)is very interesting and eye opening.

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#1 Loved it! — julia 2010-08-09 14:51

I really liked this book. It was a great way to learn stuff about India, but was written in a way that made it interesting. I started reading it in Sydney airport on the way back to China and realised that it was written as a letter to the premier of China. Some parts are really funny when comparing both countries to each other.

I would definitely recommend to read this book.

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