Wednesday, December 24, 2008

REVIEW: The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga. Published 2008 by Simon & Schuster. 2008 Winner of the Man Booker Prize. Literary Fiction.

The White Tiger is a difficult, morally challenging novel, told in the first person by one Balram Halwai, a complicated and unreliable narrator. The story is told in a series of letters to a Chinese official who may soon be visiting India, ostensibly intended to be Balram's life story and an introduction to Indian culture, but it's more than that. Among other things, it's an indictment of a ruthlessly class-driven society where a great part of the population is underfed, undereducated and underdeveloped, a paean to capitalism and entrepreneurship; an understated critique of the United States, and lastly (and by no means least) a detailed, lengthy self-serving justification for murder.

Raised in poverty and employed by as a chauffeur by wealthy (if somewhat ineffectual) coal magnate Mr. Ashok, Balram narrates the story as part Dale Carnegie, part Raskolnikov and part Nietzschean Superman. He is filled with contempt for the upper classes but serves them with fealty. As a chauffeur he sees Mr. Ashok's private life in intimate detail and is subject to all manner of mistreatment, condescension and privations. He's also whip-smart and observant, learning ruthless opportunism from his front-row seat to Mr. Ashok's wheedlings and briberies. Balram's first step up occurs when he replaces Mr. Ashok's primary driver by exposing him as a Muslim; the driver is fired and Balram is rewarded with a bed to sleep in. Later, after a series of humiliations and breathtaking betrayals, he makes a devastating choice that changes at least three lives forever.

Balram is a difficult man to admire, but it's easy to be lead along by the reins of his screwy logic and breezy self-confidence. The thing to remember about The White Tiger is that it's a satire- in other words, it's supposed to be over-the-top and overstated. Balram is a charming sociopath but he's more than that- he's a monster created by the screwed up world he describes even as he deconstructs and manipulates it- simultaneously marginalized and deeply assimilated. And he's a relentless narcissist. The one person in the world he loves- his nephew Dharam- is a younger version of himself, another cagey, smart little boy who could end up as another servant, but Balram wants better for him. And I think Balram wants better for India and for all of us but has only the limited tools of his "half-baked" education and morality to guide him.

I picked up The White Tiger because it won the Man Booker Prize and I generally enjoy Booker winners, and because it's about India, a long-standing casual interest of mine, and because it had a nice blurb by another satirist I admire, Gary Shteyngart, on the back cover. Shteyngart wrote the wonderful Absurdistan, one of my favorite books of last year, and if he liked it, how could I go wrong? The White Tiger is a fantastic, gripping, disturbing, page-turning and challenging novel of the new world economy- a story of those it uplifts and those it crushes. It's not an easy read and it's not going to be everybody's cup of tea but I think it's amazing.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review from the publisher.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is on my wish list, so I was anxious to see what you thought. Glad you liked it.

Sandra said...

A well thought out review. I enjoyed this story very much.

Candy Schultz said...

That is a great review. I still don't know if I want to read it. I probably will since I usually read the winners. I still haven't read The Inheritance of Loss. I have read too much stuff on India I guess. I am not quite ready for more.

Happy Holidays!

Marie Cloutier said...

Candy- read it. I think you'll like it a lot. I've read a lot of books set in India and this really lacks the sentimentality and self-conscious exoticism of many. It's very gritty and tough and yet full of affection too.

Anonymous said...

Really, it's not up to everyone's liking. But the voice is unique and worldly. I enjoyed this.

I wish you the best in this holiday season, full of joy and memories, and a healthy, bookish new year! Merry Christmas! :)

Andi said...

Yours is probably the most informative synopsis of the book I've seen anywhere! Nicely reviewed.

Marie Cloutier said...

Andi, thank you! :-)

Shana said...

Great review, Marie. I've been wanting to read more Booker prize winners, so this is definitely going on my wish list!

Shana
Literarily

The Bookworm said...

this does sound like an interesting read.
great review.
Merry Christmas :)
http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

Wendi said...

Merry Christmas Marie!

:) Wendi

LorMil said...

Well done review, and you certainly caught my attention, and now I must check it out in the book store.