Everything happens for a reason... Review on Q & A - Vikas Swarup

Should the name of a child be based on his religion? How does one decide what to call an orphan? Was s/he born a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian? Does it even matter? The answer for our hero was simple. Just get a member of each religious community to come up with a name and slap ?em together. And we have Ram Mohammad Thomas, a name that spells trouble and doom, and brings with the promise of a life full of hardship and adventure.

An orphan from crippled recesses of Asia?s largest slum, Dharavi find himself much closer to a billion rupees after winning a relatively new game show called W3B (Who Will Win a Billion?). The producers of the show, who are in no position to dole out such a sum right at the beginning of the series, are obviously not happy with this, and have Ram arrested for fraud. After all how could this poor soul who has had no formal education answer 12 questions accurately?

However, soon after his arrest, he is bailed out by his lawyer, who seems to be the only friend he has left. Ram starts narrating the story of his life and takes us on an exciting adventure from the orphanages and Churches of New Delhi to the slums of Mumbai; from working as an in-house servant of an erstwhile famous bollywood actress, to conducting tour guide to the Taj Mahal. I must warn you though; there are some parts that one might find disturbing.

The book has it all, a hero, a love interest, bad guys, guns, cops and robbers, and last but not the least, a happy ending. It moves at a surprisingly fast pace, and since it is told by our hero Ram, it is written in the simplest of language. I?d read a review about his book in either Outlook and India Today and it didn?t have a lot of good things to say about it. However, I just had a feeling when I looking for a new book to buy at the Corner Bookstore inside one of the Barista?s. I just had to buy it.

There?s really nothing new about the story. As I said, it has it all. In fact, add about 10-15 crappy songs and a little ?acceptable? nudity and viola, you have a Hindi movie. However, the book has been written very carefully. Mr. Swarup, at many times hovers close the not-so-thin line between the-same-old-story told differently and the-same-old-movie. I?m guessing this is his first book. I must confess that I was a little put off at times by the crudity of the language, but once I got past the first 50 pages or so I just kept going and the journey turned out to be worth it.

I believe I have mentioned everything I could without ruining the book for anyone, so I?ll just end this review by saying that it was a very inspiring story; a story about the struggle and pain of life and the very hard decision of never giving up and always wanting more than what has been given to you. So if any of you are feeling a little low, and don?t know which way to go, go to the nearest library or book store and get yourself a copy of this book. It?s the kind of book that all sorts of people should enjoy.