The White Tiger
ABOUT
THE BOOK
Born in a remote Indian village, the son of a rickshaw-puller, Balram is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he smashes coals and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape, of breaking away from the banks of Mother Ganga into whose murky depths have seeped the remains of a hundred generations.
When a rich village landlord hires him as a chauffeur for his son and daughter-in-law, Balram’s re-education begins. Behind the wheel of a Honda, Balram comes to New Delhi. There he finds himself among cockroaches and traffic-jams, slums and shopping malls, 21st-century technology and medieval superstition. Trapped between his instinct to be a loyal son and servant, and his desire to better himself, and under the scrutiny of 36,000,005 gods, he discovers a new morality at the heart of the new India. Gradually Balram comes to see how the Tiger might escape his cage…
Balram’s journey from darkness to the light of success is a brilliantly irreverent, blackly comic, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable tour de force.
NOMINATING LIBRARY COMMENTS
This darkly comic debut novel comments on the social situation in India, new prosperity for some groups in society but for a large part of the population still corruption, poverty and inequality.
A penetrating piece of social commentary about the corruption and brutality accompanying India’s rise to a global power structure.
A refreshing insight into the world of an individual trying to better himself whilst battling with the consumerist society around him.
Very moving novel.
This is a thrilling, irreverent, unforgettable debut novel which tells the tale of two Indias through the story of Balram Halwai who was born into the “darkness” of village life in rural India but emerges into the “light” of entrepreneurial success in Delhi. With an utterly engaging plot, told with humour and sarcasm, the reader will not fail to be enthralled.
Brightly, ironical if not sarcastic, and somewhat shockingly expressive picture of the present day India through the eyes of its enfant terrible.
A favourite with Glasgow’s book groups.
The White Tiger combines insightful social commentary, engaging story telling, surprising plot twists and a unique narrative voice to expose the grim costs of a morally bankrupt society.