The White Tiger: A Novel (original 2008; edition 2008)

Hi ha molta ironia i mala baba, en aquesta novel·la. Desmitificant Bollywood i la imatge del misticisme hindú.
Molt recomanable. En realitat els mòbils afecten al cervell? igual és cert...

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well written, fast paced, but we dont know whether the author will last ( )

The narrator compares himself to that rarest of animals, the white tiger. He writes a long letter to the visiting premier of China to fill him in on what Indian competitoin the Chinese labor force face. The entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian business man is far superior to anyone. Adiga's main character begins life as a tea room employee, born in his caste as such, and progresses to the life of a driver where the reader witnesses the upstairs downstaris world of class among the rich and their servants. Suddenly with one inhuman decision by his servants, Balram wakes up to his servitude and decides to grab his own share. The alternately angry, conscientious, caring and half crazed with repression and desire voice ( )

This novel about class struggle in India is gripping; I couldn’t put it down. It “explains” India in a way that really rings true for me. ( )

Adiga has written an engaging story about a "self-made" entrepreneur in modern Bangalore, India. In the tradition of Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, he details the story of his life as a servant, in which he has been slowly but surely worn down and mistreated. The solution to a life of poverty and servitude, as the narrator presents it, is to raise oneself up by any means possible, including murder.
For the average western reader, The White Tiger is definitely an effective rebuke of the Indian caste system. But I'm not sure it is telling us anything we haven't heard already: The system is corrupt and pervasive...the rich get richer and the poor stay poor; Class is ingrained so deeply in Indian society that it will take generations for it to change. Money does nothing but corrupt, etc.
I was hoping to read something unexpected; to be treated to a side of this story that was unfamiliar. Instead, we are taken through the events by a narrator who seems suspiciously well-spoken and insightful for his position. At first I thought that the narrator was simply meant to be an unreliable narrator--one who claims to tell the truth but is actually manipulating and lying to the reader. But after reading some criticism of the novel, I started to think that maybe it wasn't a device on the writer's part, but, rather, a reflection of the fact that the author was not of the same social class as the narrator he was trying to speak for.
Now, it's not that I don't think writers should try to give voice to those who don't have the opportunity to speak for themselves. On the contrary, I think that is one of the highest goals of art. But if you're going to do it, do it well, and don't make your hero a wishy washy villain. ( )