Purchase
a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.
Free Press
May 2008
On Sale: April 22, 2008
288 pages
ISBN: 1416562591
EAN: 9781416562597
Hardcover
Add to Wish List
Literature and Fiction Literary | Multicultural Indian
Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers
a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and
questionable morality, told by the most volatile,
captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this
millennium has yet seen. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher.
Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by
the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram
tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came
to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits
to help him along. Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he
is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two
house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's
(very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda
City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his
peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape
-- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt),
and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society,
Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax
breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt
whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop.
Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt
mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label
bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop
that no one else inside it can perceive. Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the
cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the
worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water
buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape
is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma
as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that
religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve
every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt
world, and you can get what you want out of life if you
eavesdrop on the right conversations. Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The White Tiger
recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition,
scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality
all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and
utterly contemporary, this novel is an international
publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.
Comments
No comments posted.
Registered users may leave comments.
Log in or register now!
| 
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy