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What are readers saying about The White Tiger: A Novel (Man Booker Prize)?
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Buzz posted a review at 2010-07-18 04:33:28.
(Language: English)
 
The White Tiger is an excellent book, not perhaps as good as it should be to win the Man Booker Prize in 2008, but I can’t argue that it deserves a lot of praise and many readers. It is an easy, short book, one that held my interest throughout. The prose style is conversational and inventive. The book is in the form of a letter from a once impoverished servant, to the Chinese Premier, who is about to pay an official visit to India. The picture it paints of modern India and the rise of its entrepreneurial class, is contemporary and fascinating. The protagonist, although a criminal, is strangely likeable. This entertaining, and at times funny novel, is surprisingly light given its serious subject matter and shocking and bloody happenings.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-14 11:10:56.
(Language: English)
Adiga presented brilliantly how the rich in rural India take the poor for granted. And, how the poor are in a kind of rooster coup, similar to the chicken in a cage that offer to the butcher one-by-one, systematically. He narrates the story with dark humor. The story involves a kid in a typical Indian village, who has big dreams of becoming a bus conductor, the only prosperous career that he could think for himself. The kid ends up becoming a driver of a land-lord in his village and is treated as a successful man in his circles. He gets the chance of watching closely the life of the rich land-lord (which is again typical to many in that class), which is so poignant, so cheap, so dirty. Finally, he kills the land-lord and runs away with some money and becomes an entrepreneur in Bangalore. Now he knows the tricks of the trade that the rich are involved in. And, uses the same with ordinary(poor, powerless) people.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-19 08:07:35.
(Language: English)
This book surely made me uncomfortable certai times....definitely it's every paisa worth to read it..it won booker guys..lolIt exhibits the life view of a rise of a poor from dark to a gliterring life..with the help of a murder..(quite a cold one indeed) But i would definitely say to exercise caution , Yes no doubt India is an outrageous vulgar criminal society when it comes to its treatment to its fellows but to make a general image of indian society by reading this would be stretching things too far . India is a country within country..such is the intriguing diversity of this country is that you just can't comprehend unless and until you don't experience it...so read it but lightly..not to be taken seriously... I think part of the reason it got booker was Jury took a dark comedy seriously..lol
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-02-24 07:05:48.
(Language: English)
Great, unsparing novel boiling with rage. The lean prose is a welcome change from Rushdie and some other 'great' Indian writers who are a bit too purple for my palate. I have a few Indian friends who hate it but probably for similar reasons to why the people of Limerick city hated Angela's Ashes. The misery and brutality in India make "a miserable Irish childhood" look like martinis with Gatsby. It reminds me of Orwell in many ways in its unsentimental portrait of structured, brutal inequality but it's funnier. If Slumdog Millionaire pissed people off White Tiger will have them burning effigies - surely the ultimate accolade for a writer. It should have more than a few oligarchs who read it looking over their shoulders askance at their servants. I hope so. Brilliant.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-12-23 12:18:24.
(Language: English)
First of all, let me tell you that the protaganist Balram hails from a place close to Dhanbad, a place which he likes to call "Darkness" and when he's old enough to work, he goes to work at a tea-stall at Dhanbad. This is one thing that made me take up the book in the first place, and mind you I was not dejected. You cannot ignore the fact that he brings out some facets of the "Darkness" quite well.. He brings life into the characters of the Buffalo and his family, The Great Socialist Leader, and his ex quite well... But the underlying tone of the book is quite dark and sadistic at times.. IMHO, the climax (the protaganist bribing off the parents of a boy knocked down by one of his Qualises, all of this to show how sorry he was for the whole incident) was a let-down... Read this book if you are free.. and yeah, just wondered why Shiv Sena have not raised any hue and cry about the 3,00,005 arses...
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-07 09:28:51.
(Language: English)
While not exactly a page-turner, I must confess that Adiga had me rooting for Balram Halwai, the protagonist of his impressive first novel - despite being a cunning sociopath and a murderer to boot. Dazzling narrative with a fine touch of dark humour, fascinating characters and disturbing pictures, providing a glimpse beneath the surface of lyrical romanticized India. A Morally complicated tale - an unpretentious parable portraying unadorned modern India from the bottom-of-the-heap, with its cast-ridden,corrupt, upwardly mobile changing society, trying to hold on to its servile roots. Brings out the remorseless cravings of the rich, desperate struggles of the deprived, slyness of parasitical politicians and the vicious strategy utilized in keeping each in its place. Intense, satirical, unsettling novel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-08-12 01:21:27.
(Language: English)
This is one highly overrated book. The story line is pretty thin. The sensibilities of the characters is debatable. Arvind Adiga doesnt seem to be very familiar with the Indian hinterland. He has some vague notions about many places. It wouldve definitely helped him if he hadnt concentrated so much on the fart smells and tried his creativity elsewhere to potray how horrid the life of a car driver can be. People looking forward to understanding the disparities existing in modern India or looking for some disturbing read would be much better off reading P. Sainaths editorials in The Hindu. Read 'em and then tell me if you can handle a dose of realism. By the way Mr. Adiga. Gurgaon is dominated by Haryanvi Jats and not by Fat punjabis.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-11-17 07:22:15.
(Language: English)
Great book! Despite winning the Booker Prize (which in my experience usually flags an unreadable piece of elitism) this book is well worth reading. The story is of a young Indian boy who makes it away from his country village, becomes a driver , then an entrepreneur with his own team of driver. At first, it reminded me of a couple of other Indian-based books I had read recently (Swampdog Millionaire comes to mind as does the file Salaam Bombay) but that was probably due to the locale - the story pulls away from these others as it moves along. Picture of grinding poverty and serious political corruption are graphically portrayed, and indeed the character of the storyteller is not saintly either. But the book makes him endearing, and his rise to prosperity (a prosperity he understands could be very fleeting) is portrayed with humor and humanity. Go for it!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-03-30 12:12:48.
(Language: English)
This book provides a critical look at contemporary Indian society. It shows us the struggles of the working class who have the deck stacked thoroughly against them. It's amazing how many obstacles the protagonist had to overcome to achieve his success and what he had to sacrifice along the way. The glimpses of the "mirror" society, i.e. shadow markets where the servant classes operate in, were also eye-opening for me (as someone that has visited India several times and seen some evidence of this firsthand). The narrator's sarcastic and jaded voice is appropriate given what he has experienced but it wears thin after some time. The injustices described speak for themselves.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-01-04 07:04:13.
(Language: English)
I want the past 5 hours of my life back!! Why do Cambridge educated, ex-Times Magazine reporters think they can show the world the 'real' India?? Or is it actually the same book regurgitated by every (western) award-winning 'Indian' novelist ( who having won awards in the west has now quickly shifted to NY/London to live & continue to entertain the west on cynical stories of India gauranteed to warm the cockles of every 'liberal' ) from Naipaul to Rushdie to Ghosh to this guy? All I can say is, slick & cynical - and how come these authors don't feel they're making money off the poor man just as much as the other rich folk they talk about so dismissively? Give me a Ray or a Devi novel anyday - atleast their compassion & love for India were genuine.
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Kauser posted a review at 2008-11-22 09:43:32.
(Language: English)
Did not deserve the booker prize!! Adiga has targeted the book for the western audience and it is quite apparent that the booker committee award prizes only when an author writes about the negative side of a country... Well Adiga has been very immature in his comments about the muslims... referring to them as being good only as drivers.. guess he forgets that the ex president of india was a muslim.. the other comments about women in burkas wanting to blow up buildings was uncalled for.. and yet another reference to muslims getting an urge to bomb trains was unwarranted. It is quite apparent from these comments that he wanted to whet the appetite of the western reader... why has he not made a comment on the hindus raping the pregnant muslim women in gujrat... well the booker committee would not give a damn about it and would not award him the prize. I am ashamed to say that authors such as Adiga would put down their own country and bad mouth them only to win the booker prize!
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Anntonette posted a review at 2011-01-21 05:35:54.
(Language: English)
What a unique and eye-opening novel! I am just beginning to do a lot of business abroad and this book, charming and funny as it is, is very sobering. This novel makes the painful statement that success in the the developing world requires revolution -- even if it is just a revolution of one man (the "entrepreneur" against his private tyrannies. Progress requires murder of the traditional way of life, and creates mortal risk not only for the revolutionary but his entire family. And that only those who are willing to murder the past and risk their dearest ties will be able to shake off the shackles of traditional poverty.
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Linda posted a review at 2011-07-27 01:33:20.
(Language: English)
The son of a poor rickshaw puller, Balram was born in an Indian village and received little education before being given away as payment for a debt. How he works his way up in a culture still colored by its ancient caste system forms the basis of this winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008. It is not essentially about the caste system, but more about cultural bias, socioeconomic status, and personal morality. A wonderful read, The White Tiger kept me enchanted.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-04-20 02:13:43.
(Language: English)
If you saw Slumdog Millionaire then you have a good backdrop in mind when reading. And in its own way it is also feel-good story of one man successfully getting out of the slums, out of the Darkness. But no squeaky clean game show set for television here - it's all wilderness and corruption and Adiga proves that you do have to be that rare animal that only comes along once in a generation to survive. You have to be the white tiger or you just won't have the stomach for it. Great first half - some scenes left my jaw on the floor. Not too sure about the tight wrap up of the ending, but still highly recommended. Can anyone tell me why people are called "servants" when really they are slaves?
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-08-12 05:25:05.
(Language: English)
Tigra sam pročitala u jednom dahu. Glavni lik Balram vam postane simpatičan dok pripovjeda svoju strasnu pricu punu crnog humora. I mada se poput tigra probija kroz zivot bezobzirno i krvolocno, vi mu to ne mozete zamjeriti jer razumijete njegove razloge i shvatate da se ipak trudi na neki način da ostane čovjek. On nam priča o Indiji iz svoga ugla, ugla siromasnih i nesrećnih. On je vječiti sluga koji to ne želi više biti. Svo zlo danasnjice, podjela na gospodare i sluge, siromasne i bogate, mucitelje i mucenike, kao da se slilo u danasnju Indiju i razlilo na stranicama ove knjige. Preporucujem!
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Wan-Shoo posted a review at 2009-01-14 06:13:57.
(Language: English)
Adiga shows how the truth of life not just in India but also in other parts of the world especially in Asia countries. He wittily described what an lower caste Indian thinks and how the well off masters behave.I could hardly get my eyes off what he's going to say in his next line because he just show how some simple english words can just get your attention and also your laughter...the facts that makes me laugh are all those solid truth that we see everyday but due to some stigma, people wont dare to speak it out...Bravo to his first book and a well-deserved winner for man booker prize..a twist of the story into the dark side of the world only add on sarcasm but still inspiring...:)
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-01-30 01:36:20.
(Language: English)
It's no surprize to me, that if a Tiger, a white one to be exact, were to write a letter to a Chinese dignatary, it would be exactly like Adiga's masterpiece. Baring his teeth, our protagonist has charmed me with his smiles, but created an unease also; when will this handsome albino pounce...? An excercise in humility, and a fierce display of cunning, the White Tiger has won his place in the jungles of India. Adiga must be elevated to the pantheon of Indian writers and join them upon devotional shelves like Seth and Roy. May every Indian with or without a belly escape the Rooster Coup; I will pray for this revolution everyday if I must.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-27 01:14:23.
(Language: English)
Aravind Adiga is amazingly perceptive about the things he sees around him. His book talks about everything we Indians take for granted in India .. but reading it (or listening to it as I did as an audio book), makes you cringe a little. Specially if you have been living away from India for a while and realize the stark differences between the East and the West. Again, as with Slum Dog, this book has been written for the western audience, giving them a colorful picture of the darkest side of India, woven through the life story of a regular villager. The story in itself is not extra-ordinary, but his narration, his visual descriptions and the insight he displays is stunning. A must read for every Indian, who has forgotten "that" side of India.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-03-25 03:35:20.
(Language: English)
Another book I knew nothing about and found at the airport. When I saw that it had won the Man Booker Prize, I figured "why not try it out?" It was very entertaining. Although a bit of a dark comedy, it's very truthful in certain ways and allows you to see the world from an innocent servant's point of view and how they become corrupted. It begins with Balram, an honest boy with great potential, growing up in a tiny Indian village caged by his lowly caste. He eventually finds a way to break out and become a servant for a wealthy family. Balram transforms himself and ends up becoming a successful entrepreneur, but not without murder and deceit.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-22 12:53:53.
(Language: English)
This book describes an India that I only know from books and films. I was so young when we left that I couldn't possibly have understood the different strata of society. So... as a confirmation of the dreadful rift between the servant class and the rest of India, it was extremely good. The prose is visceral and completely unignorable. And, of course, the echoes of 'Crime and Punishment' are persistent. But I will say that I found the bit where Balram got away with murder rather difficult to completely believe... I'm willing for someone who has actually been an adult in India to persuade me otherwise though...
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-19 09:42:38.
(Language: English)
The Book counterpart of Slumdog Millionaire, i mean the manner in which both these works portray India, one has to suspect that it somehow reaches out to the inner psyche of the Westerners who want to see India the way thats being shown in them. Slumdog won the oscars and The white tiger won the Booker, both in the same year, the year when the US economy went into a tailspin and India showed resilience... Reallu suspicious... Whatever be it.. The book is not that great.. it chugs along at a monotonous pace .... going into every minuscule detail that comes in the mind of the protagonist, the Entrepreneur, The White Tiger. I am at least happy that it doesnt have the material to be made into a movie.. Whew!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-02-01 06:24:08.
(Language: English)
I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down, needing to find out what happened and why. Set in India from about the 80's to now, the main character describes his upbringing and struggle for something better culminating, as he tells early on, in murder. At times humorous his descriptions of life and servitude, I connected with the character through his letter to a Chinese Premier set to visit India to see its form of "democracy". The book managed a realistic description of modern day India that didn't leave me feeling as hopeless and empty as other books, like A Fine Balance. A must-read.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-07-21 10:20:04.
(Language: English)
The Book counterpart of Slumdog Millionaire, i mean the manner in which both these works portray India, one has to suspect that it somehow reaches out to the inner psyche of the Westerners who want to see India the way thats being shown in them. Slumdog won the oscars and The white tiger won the Booker, both in the same year, the year when the US economy went into a tailspin and India showed resilience... Really suspicious... Whatever be it.. The book is not that great.. it chugs along at a monotonous pace .... going into every minuscule detail that comes in the mind of the protagonist, the Entrepreneur, The White Tiger. I am at least happy that it doesnt have the material to be made into a movie.. Whew!!
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-08 06:26:54.
(Language: English)
A rather poor and dry read. If I may be allowed to speak my mind with no reservations then I would call this book absolute TRASH. 'Dip the beak' would be the worst metaphor for sex that you will find in the book thanks to Adiga. Perhaps, it will be the worst metaphor for sex in the English language. Adiga has no idea about what India really is. The book gives an unreal description of the country with lots of factual errors like the part where the protagonist and his family while going on the funeral procession chant the name of Shiv; Hindus in India take the name of their God Ram not Shiva. I lost all respect for the Booker Prize after reading this book.
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A Reader posted a review at 2010-09-17 09:42:39.
(Language: English)
I like the book, but I find it hard for me to relate to it. I guess it is talking about situations and experiences within a specific geographic area - India. I enjoy the story and the narration, and tried to read beyond this into a bigger picture...what happens to a society that is quickly evolving, but only brought some people up (financial wise) and not everyone? What happens when the class system sticks and the poor never have a chance to make it? Still it was just okay for me...
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