For me, the reputation of the novel preceded, the book itself.
Surrounded in controversy, I figured this debutante booker prize
-winning novel written by a journalist turned writer was bound to be
interesting. Seen through a journalist’s eye, I was sure the narrative
would maintain a tone of observational integrity.
As I grabbed my copy of the book, my imagination was further piqued
when I realized that the entire story is written in the course of
seven confessional, letters, from the garrulous Balram,an Indian
driver to the Chinese premier Wen Liabo.
Through this sardonic caustically funny account narrated by none other
than the ” white tiger” Balram himself, Adiga strives to paint a
picture of two disparate worlds. One is of the hopeless, backwardness
of a village lost in darkness In rural Bihar and the other of the
uncaring, fast paced, perversely corrupt merciless urban culture
seeping its way in Indian metros ,projected via a sliver of Delhi. The
two settings and the “animals” that inhabit them set out a chasm that
is utterly unbridgeable. Adiga deftly etches out Balram as an
entrepreneur, one whose tiger’s leap across the chasm is the product
of social forces he cannot control.
To what extent he succeeds in his attempt, I leave the reader to
decide. After finishing it, I found my mind in a quagmire of
contradictions. The book is indeed gripping and many witty
observations may seem to ring true but at the same time there are
sections where I found the depictions of characters a bit hollow,
deprecating and often trite.
If one was to look at the negatives, many a scenario seemed
implausible, the villains a little over the top, Bollywood style
melodramatic and the projection of Bihar a trifle inauthentic. However
the intriguing story line and brilliant writing style more than
compensate for it all.. On the surface it is a simple story of the
village boy turned driver who murders his master for a bag full of
cash. But Balram’s journey to the murder and beyond is such a
fascinating tale that leaves us understanding and perhaps even rooting
for the murderer who had taken life into his own hands. The tone of
Adiga’s protagonist is simple, bold and funny. But it is a simplicity
that is raw, a humour so dark and belying such anger that the result
is both unsettling and electrifying. Taking all these factors into
account, the book certainly is a one time read.]]>
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