Extremely funny and sarcastic. Review on White Tiger, The - Aravind Adiga

This book was on my “to-do” list ever since it was recently awarded the prestigious Man Booker Prize. At a point in time when many refer to India as an “economic miracle", the novel is an attempt to expose and introduce the other side.

The book is actually a series of letters that Balram Halwai, the protagonist, writes to Wen Jiabao, the premier of China, another country often said to be an "economic miracle". He takes on the onusof enlightening the Chinese premiere on "entrepreneurship".

Balram, the White Tiger in the story, hails from a small village in North India, which he describes as "the Darkness". Over a period of seven nights, he recites his tale of rising from “the darkness” to“the light”.

The novel depicts the true India, where extremes of immense wealth and abject poverty stand in sharp contrast. "India is two countries in one: an India of Light, and an India of Darkness.” Balram writes. "In the old days there were one thousand castes and destinies in India. These days there are just two castes: men with big bellies and men with small bellies and only two destinies: eat or get eaten up."

The author has created an unforgettable character in Balram, the protagonist, the narrator, the entrepreneur, the murderer. The White Tigeris a severely angry yet calculatingly funny story. It is a quick-reading thriller, one you will find hard to put down until you complete it. Go buy it, I say!