White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

White Tiger
Aravind Adiga

Witty and sharply observant, White Tiger is the story of Balram Halwai, one of India’s many poor struggling with the filth and the humiliation that constitutes his daily existence.
Servant to a rich family, Balram narrates his life through a series of emails to a Chinese diplomat, beginning with his childhood raised in the Darkness to a successful entrepreneur with a flourishing business.

Balram’s generous spirit and his battle with his conscious for the act he must commit to free himself is terribly touching. Aware of the dire consequences to his extended family once discovered, Blaram is faced with a difficult decision. It did puzzle me however as to why Balram chooses to narrate his life to a stranger in emails when he’s a wanted man living under a false identity.

White Tiger is an enjoyable and engaging read. Adiga has an unflinching ability to describe the harsh reality of India's poor and her democratic duplicity with an acid tongue and a flowing narrative. I do not feel however that Adiga offers anything new in his observations of the Indian society that previous writers have not already covered. Still, in 2008, White Tiger impressed judges of The Booker Prize to award Adiga the highly prestigious prize. 3 stars