false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255914804m/1768603.jpg 1768603 27 Introducing a major literary talent, <I>The White Tiger</i> offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along. Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of <I>Murder Weekly</i> ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive. Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations. Sold in sixteen countries around the world, <I>The White Tiger</i> recalls <I>The Death of Vishnu</i> and <I>Bangkok 8</i> in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut. 1766737 22 4 2008 The White Tiger total:8182|5:1641|4:3695|3:2194|2:523|1:129| 8182 30738 13396 2106 5 19 false false Fri Dec 05 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue May 06 14:42:59 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 16 06:51:36 -0700 2009
By dint of his intelligence and ambition, he becomes the No. 2 driver to a local landlord nicknamed ...more...]]> 3 16 false false Thu Dec 11 06:04:02 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 11 06:08:13 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 9 false false Thu May 22 09:14:11 -0700 2008 Thu May 22 09:18:42 -0700 2008 An image from it that sticks with me is...more...]]> 4 13 false false Sat Mar 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 23 07:57:25 -0700 2008 Sat Mar 29 09:58:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 14 false false Thu Apr 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 03 02:00:43 -0800 2009 Thu Apr 09 03:42:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 11 false false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 03:36:34 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 09:43:39 -0800 2009 1 more...]]> 4 8 false false Fri May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 18:17:38 -0700 2008 Fri May 30 18:34:12 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 7 false false Fri Jan 02 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 08 19:06:04 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 02 11:52:03 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 6 false false Mon Apr 06 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 09 08:41:11 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 06 19:33:46 -0700 2009 Aravind Adiga claims Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man as the forebear of his Booker Prize Winning novel The White Tiger. I wish I could speak to that relationship (I really must get around to reading Ellison), but there was another relationship I found that was important to me: Balram Halwai (aka "...more...]]> 3 5 false false Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 02 12:45:51 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 12:48:26 -0800 2009 The White Tiger is a lightning-fast read (and winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize for Fiction), which I easily finished in under a week. The reader knows up front that the main character and narrator, Balram Halwai, went from being a poor village boy to becoming a successful entrepreneur and also, ...more...]]> 4 2 false false Mon Jan 26 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 30 12:30:16 -0800 2008 Thu Oct 29 18:41:03 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 5 false false Wed Dec 17 14:16:18 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 17 14:36:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 4 false false Sat Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 29 06:12:30 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 12 11:37:59 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 4 4 false false Sat Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 18 08:36:47 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 13:12:21 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Sat Jun 28 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jun 20 23:19:51 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 16 07:44:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 3 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Nov 12 17:44:34 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 17:47:01 -0800 2008 Once
Well, it was probably better than okay. Since it won the Man Booker prize my expectations were pretty high. And while the story kept my attention, I wasn't completely "sold" on some of the decisions and actions of the main character. They didn't ring true...more...]]> 4 4 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 09:39:59 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 11:53:24 -0800 2009 1
Makes you angry, but the voice of the protagonist is ironic enough that you can't help but chuckle outloud.]]> 5 3 false false Fri Jan 16 06:52:18 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 16 06:55:03 -0800 2009 2 8 false false Tue Aug 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Apr 04 16:34:16 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 18 13:38:58 -0700 2009 hip westerner who gets the shifting forces of globalization.......more...]]> 3 2 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 03:13:08 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 02:05:39 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1768603