alecitlikethat's review against another edition
3.0
While initially confusing, I soon found the writing style of this book made it easy to read and prevented the story from ever reaching a standstill. I liked how the plot was built up, as well as the author's frankness of everybody's questionable moralities, especially the main character. Mixed in among the plot and dark humour were some good select comments which I found to be interesting to reflect on. Not a book that will stick with me though, nor that I felt any strong emotion on finishing. 3.5 stars.
Edit: I went for a run the day after finishing this book and a lil mouse darted across the road in front of me (never happened before) - on seeing it, my inner voice immediately shouted "Country-Mouse!"
Another unexpected edit: The day after I went for a run, I found a 100 rupee note hidden in my wallet...they say things come in threes? so I will now be keeping an eye out lol
Spoiler
Also, I will now (sadly) never be able to engage in any discussions about birds' beaks.Edit: I went for a run the day after finishing this book and a lil mouse darted across the road in front of me (never happened before) - on seeing it, my inner voice immediately shouted "Country-Mouse!"
Another unexpected edit: The day after I went for a run, I found a 100 rupee note hidden in my wallet...they say things come in threes? so I will now be keeping an eye out lol
Spoiler
but let me say that I will not be pulling over at a roadside to change a tyre any time soonchaostheorie's review against another edition
dark
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
misslezlee's review against another edition
3.0
I’m at a loss about what to say about this novel. I picked it up at the Goodwill store. It fulfills a category on the Popsugar Reading Challenge. It was interesting enough. I liked the chandeliers. I liked that the narrator was writing letters to the visiting Chinese Premier. The fact that it lays bare some ugly truths about contemporary life in India makes it worthy reading. It won the Booker Prize in 2008 and I’m going to watch the movie adaptation, I think.
vhop's review against another edition
2.0
it took me forever to finish this book. I just couldn't get into it. For some reason I kept reading though (I guess I'm no quitter!) and kept thinking there must be some kind of reward in the end. Something surprising or shocking to make it all worth it. But the shock was actually just the fact that the world indeed is a dark and hopeless place, according tp the main character. I wasn't impressed or touched. Good books have been written about tough subjects. This isn't one of them.
lagobond's review against another edition
5.0
This book is a tour de force. Now I'm not Indian, I've never been to India, and I don't know a lot about India. What I do know is this: regardless of what is being claimed in the many reviews included in the book, Balram is not a psychopath. And neither is this a funny book. Anyone who claims one of these two things to be true must not have read the book, or if they did, they weren't paying attention. Yes, Balram lives in a psychopathic world, and he's not an easy character to like in some ways; but he's not the root of the problem, and he definitely isn't devoid of feelings or empathy. And yes, the book has copious amounts of humor, but funny it isn't. It's revolting, heartbreaking, infuriating.
The White Tiger is not a pleasant book to read. But it has earned its accolades and prizes. Adiga is a masterful storyteller, and the story flows well. I love how, over and over, he leads us in one direction, only to flip things upside-down and go someplace else entirely. He has a rare talent for telling his story in a way that is truly an adventure for the reader. No foregone conclusions, no clichéd progression of events, no boredom. I love this kind of book. For a first-time author to create a thing like this... wow, hats off.
In the (fairly terrible) interview included at the end of the book, Adiga states that this is a work of fiction, and not meant to be a "true story." But I think anyone going through life with open eyes knows that much of what he describes is true, perhaps not in every detail but certainly in a big-picture way. Humans are awful to each other. One does not need to be Indian, or intimately familiar with Indian society and history, to understand that.
I would compare Aravind Adiga to Émile Zola. Competely different style, same heart. Great reading.
The White Tiger is not a pleasant book to read. But it has earned its accolades and prizes. Adiga is a masterful storyteller, and the story flows well. I love how, over and over, he leads us in one direction, only to flip things upside-down and go someplace else entirely. He has a rare talent for telling his story in a way that is truly an adventure for the reader. No foregone conclusions, no clichéd progression of events, no boredom. I love this kind of book. For a first-time author to create a thing like this... wow, hats off.
In the (fairly terrible) interview included at the end of the book, Adiga states that this is a work of fiction, and not meant to be a "true story." But I think anyone going through life with open eyes knows that much of what he describes is true, perhaps not in every detail but certainly in a big-picture way. Humans are awful to each other. One does not need to be Indian, or intimately familiar with Indian society and history, to understand that.
I would compare Aravind Adiga to Émile Zola. Competely different style, same heart. Great reading.
pangnaolin's review against another edition
dark
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was an awesome read! I loved the deadpan style in which ‘The White Tiger’ wrote, and the format of the book worked surprisingly well despite never really knowing much about who he’s writing to. The main character’s cynical outlook on both his own life and the world wasn’t subtle but also wasn’t cheesy, leaving the perfect impression of almost eye roll worthy bitterness alongside a deep interest in what he had to say.
It sometimes got a little slow with exposition, turning into blocks of text that filled the reader in on context to make the story more sensical, but that’s bound to happen when writing for a western audience about a non western setting, and it wasn’t so dense that it was difficult to read, especially with the additions of his own personal views and anecdotes.
I also can’t vouch for the accuracy of any of the information presented within the book, especially with such an unreliable narrator, though I’d love to do more research.
Overall, a wonderful book that I read quite quickly and am glad I did!
It sometimes got a little slow with exposition, turning into blocks of text that filled the reader in on context to make the story more sensical, but that’s bound to happen when writing for a western audience about a non western setting, and it wasn’t so dense that it was difficult to read, especially with the additions of his own personal views and anecdotes.
I also can’t vouch for the accuracy of any of the information presented within the book, especially with such an unreliable narrator, though I’d love to do more research.
Overall, a wonderful book that I read quite quickly and am glad I did!
grubnubble's review against another edition
2.0
I heard this was supposed to be a comedy but unfortunately it just came off as annoying. It’s written as a series of letters to some politician, which is a format I struggle with. It’s boring. I don’t like the writing style. The narrator has a cheeky way of saying things. Many of his sentences begin with “You see -“ or “Now,” which I think is supposed to be conversational, but again it’s something I find annoying.
I liked that it exposes the deep rage of the poor toward their exploiters, and there are some nice descriptive passages about being existential in a large city.
I liked that it exposes the deep rage of the poor toward their exploiters, and there are some nice descriptive passages about being existential in a large city.
goblin_reaper's review against another edition
4.0
“See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich. And what do the rich dream of?
Losing weight and looking like the poor.”
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
How much can you press down a spring until it bounces back? How far can you push a person until they push you back? Vengeance, karma, jealousy— whatever you prefer to call it— The White Tiger is a story of a servant, philosopher, entrepreneur, and murderer, told under the scattered lights of a chandelier throughout seven nights.
Balram Halwai is the son of a rickshaw puller, born in the dark heart of India. When he is taken out of school and put to work in a tea shop, he nurses a dream of escape from the murky depths of river Ganga. The opportunity to slither out of the Darkness presents itself when a rich village landlord hires him as a chauffeur for his son, daughter-in-law, and their two Pomeranian dogs. From behind the wheels of Honda and amidst the Delhi pollution, cockroaches, the shopping malls, crippling traffic jams, and being a multi-tasker (servant), Balram's re-education begins. What follows is his utterly immoral journey to break out of his cage.
This book takes the dark parts and dirty not-so-secrets of India to a whole new level. The side of India that everyone looking in from the outside is content to avert their eyes from and the side of India that could've had a reader's skin-crawling decades ago. The author mixes all of it with dark humor (I was constantly stuck between laughter and grimaces), sometimes crude language, and philosophy of chandeliers while Balram learns and re-learns his ways through Delhi, teaching the readers along the way too.
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
I was kind of apprehensive to read this book at first and I found myself unfairly surprised at how the story broke the bounds of my expectations in bizarre ways. Some elements in the book were so… Indian, that I (a person born and raised in India) couldn't keep the laugh in me. While some other scenarios made the years of Indian Economics classes hit my mind full force, uncomfortably so.
One thing that deeply interested me was how even if the tone of the narration dripped sugary-sweet (the kind of sweet that makes your stomach curl) and sarcasm, the bitterness couldn't help but bleed out of some sentences. Made me wonder about the lines between authors and their works.
It was unique and funny how Balram just decided not to name the annoying people in the story. The Stork, Mangoose, the Raven, the Buffalo, Vitiligo Lips— it felt strange how those fit into the story almost seamlessly. The little encounters (dancing and breathing between brilliance and obscene) Balram had with other people were what made this story so entertaining. Even without a whisper of anything melodramatic, angsty (*shudders*) or serious epiphanies between starving children and wailing mothers— none of that— I loved how the author still managed to make readers positively squirm at themes generally left for essays, two-minute speeches, and 9 pm news debates.
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
The tone is the narrator (Balram)— with its sarcasm, fake sweetness, and detached sort of feels— made me confused that, at times, if he was acknowledging stereotypes and racism just to leave them as cherries on top of all that is this book (go big or go home and all) or if they were truly views and opinions held by Balram. With the servant turned entrepreneur and murderer, I guess I'll never know.
Another thing I would've loved to take apart and speculated about was the master-servant dynamics explored in the eyes of the latter in the story. This was not at all thrown gently (or Stars forbid, delicately) at the readers. The author or rather, Balram, is completely unabashed and in-your-face about it. However, the matter-of-fact tone (this is the third time I've mentioned something regards tone, I need to stop) and the comedic attire the sentences wear somehow made it less jarring on the 21st century reader.
Before I dive into something more about the tone (ugh) of this story and narration, I'll stop my review. Dipping the ink (red, if you're curious) into the 6th page of my notebook seems a little bit too much, in my opinion. So I'll end this with the last few words regarding The White Tiger— frustratingly compelling, endearingly preposterous (just like Balram and his chandelier), and altogether unforgettable.
Losing weight and looking like the poor.”
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
How much can you press down a spring until it bounces back? How far can you push a person until they push you back? Vengeance, karma, jealousy— whatever you prefer to call it— The White Tiger is a story of a servant, philosopher, entrepreneur, and murderer, told under the scattered lights of a chandelier throughout seven nights.
Balram Halwai is the son of a rickshaw puller, born in the dark heart of India. When he is taken out of school and put to work in a tea shop, he nurses a dream of escape from the murky depths of river Ganga. The opportunity to slither out of the Darkness presents itself when a rich village landlord hires him as a chauffeur for his son, daughter-in-law, and their two Pomeranian dogs. From behind the wheels of Honda and amidst the Delhi pollution, cockroaches, the shopping malls, crippling traffic jams, and being a multi-tasker (servant), Balram's re-education begins. What follows is his utterly immoral journey to break out of his cage.
This book takes the dark parts and dirty not-so-secrets of India to a whole new level. The side of India that everyone looking in from the outside is content to avert their eyes from and the side of India that could've had a reader's skin-crawling decades ago. The author mixes all of it with dark humor (I was constantly stuck between laughter and grimaces), sometimes crude language, and philosophy of chandeliers while Balram learns and re-learns his ways through Delhi, teaching the readers along the way too.
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
I was kind of apprehensive to read this book at first and I found myself unfairly surprised at how the story broke the bounds of my expectations in bizarre ways. Some elements in the book were so… Indian, that I (a person born and raised in India) couldn't keep the laugh in me. While some other scenarios made the years of Indian Economics classes hit my mind full force, uncomfortably so.
One thing that deeply interested me was how even if the tone of the narration dripped sugary-sweet (the kind of sweet that makes your stomach curl) and sarcasm, the bitterness couldn't help but bleed out of some sentences. Made me wonder about the lines between authors and their works.
It was unique and funny how Balram just decided not to name the annoying people in the story. The Stork, Mangoose, the Raven, the Buffalo, Vitiligo Lips— it felt strange how those fit into the story almost seamlessly. The little encounters (dancing and breathing between brilliance and obscene) Balram had with other people were what made this story so entertaining. Even without a whisper of anything melodramatic, angsty (*shudders*) or serious epiphanies between starving children and wailing mothers— none of that— I loved how the author still managed to make readers positively squirm at themes generally left for essays, two-minute speeches, and 9 pm news debates.
ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ✴ℹ
The tone is the narrator (Balram)— with its sarcasm, fake sweetness, and detached sort of feels— made me confused that, at times, if he was acknowledging stereotypes and racism just to leave them as cherries on top of all that is this book (go big or go home and all) or if they were truly views and opinions held by Balram. With the servant turned entrepreneur and murderer, I guess I'll never know.
Another thing I would've loved to take apart and speculated about was the master-servant dynamics explored in the eyes of the latter in the story. This was not at all thrown gently (or Stars forbid, delicately) at the readers. The author or rather, Balram, is completely unabashed and in-your-face about it. However, the matter-of-fact tone (this is the third time I've mentioned something regards tone, I need to stop) and the comedic attire the sentences wear somehow made it less jarring on the 21st century reader.
Before I dive into something more about the tone (ugh) of this story and narration, I'll stop my review. Dipping the ink (red, if you're curious) into the 6th page of my notebook seems a little bit too much, in my opinion. So I'll end this with the last few words regarding The White Tiger— frustratingly compelling, endearingly preposterous (just like Balram and his chandelier), and altogether unforgettable.