Book Review – The White Tiger

Apart from being the famed 'Man-booker prize' winning novel for 2008, 'The White Tiger' has a Kannadiga author Aravind Adiga, reason enough for me to buy a hard paperback from one of the book fairs in Bangalore. No-no! I'm not one with any regional biases, but just like how 'familiarity breeds contempt', 'proximity breeds choice'.

If there is one thing Adiga really succeeds in, it is his sheer knack of keeping his readers engrossed right from page 1 waiting for what's to come next. It must be the sheer talent in story telling that makes travel from the darkness of Dhanbad to direction of light he felt in Bangalore. There is a certain tempo which Adiga has maintained throughout the book which makes the wit more satirical, dark and fearful all at the same time. The portion where he compares his father's spine to a rope was one such instance which first made me laugh, then made me visit the line once again and then literally sent shivers down my spine when I imagined it. 

The story beautifully woven over seven days is a startling mirror that he holds to show the kind of India we live in. The depiction of characters is so simple, yet so detailed that, it for sure made me think about people in a different, vein whom we generally choose to conveniently ignore. 

Many a times I have this feeling of remorse of having spent days together on a novel and gain nothing. But then, having read this without anything else to do, I had my own moments with it, all through. It is definitely worth a read!!!

Cheers, 
Sanjay