White Tiger is another attempt by an Indian author to sell to the western world the tragedies of India. The narrative of the story is the highlight of this book which promises much but falls flat towards the end.
The story highlights the rural life of India and a life of a villager in a city. The sarcasm with which the author puts forward his views is commendable. The names such as the 'Darkness' , the 'Great Socialist' etc are well thought off and contributes much to the narrative of the story.
The story keeps you engrossed on most occasions but once you finish the book, you feel a little cheated because whatever has been mentioned in the book is what you see in everyday life. It might be of much interest to foreigners to read about the harsh realities of India, but like the Slumdog Millionaire, the author doesnot rise above the call centres, corruption and crime to describe our country.
All in all the author does succeed in weaving together an interesting story, but I dont quite support his style of writing, where one is guaranteed success in the western countries by exposing the underbelly of India.
Verdict: Recommended but not appreciated.
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I second u completely that people r taking the sure-shot path to success by exposing country's underbelly..
ReplyDeleteI think Mr.Adiga started with a very good concept of writting letters to Chinese PM.. but then he also got entangled in the same mesh of success and re-packaging the old wine in a new bottle called "The White Tiger"
And I have a querry.. u wrote that
"The story keeps you engrossed on most occasions but once you finish the book, you feel a little cheated because whatever has been mentioned in the book is what you see in everyday life."
but when the author is explaining whatever he has seen, then why r u feeling cheated??
I mean what I gather from the expression "feeling cheated" is when you report something which has not happened (in this context)
I hope I'm clear.. Correct me if I'm wrong..
When I wrote "feeling cheated" I meant that I expected a much more thorough and insightful analysis of the indian soceities..After reading the book I felt that the decription was rather shallow..and from an outsider's view..
ReplyDeleteQuite right, Youth Pad, white tiger was a disappointment
ReplyDelete