A good enough though familiar premise, class conflict as played out in the story of a once poor servant who eventually becomes a wealthy employer, but weighed down by boring writing.

My partner really enjoyed it and recommended it highly, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. ( )

This winner of the 2008 Man Booker Prize was a real surprise for me. I understand that this book was Aravind Adiga's first book, and it is a masterpiece in the satire genre. It's fresh, hilarious and very different, with one of the most likeable narrators you'll ever meet--Balram Halwai introduces himself in his letters to the Prime Minister of China, Wen Jiabao, as an entrepreneur and then proceeds to tell him of his rise from a poor boy in a very poor village in northern India, and how he made his rise to be a gentleman of substance in Bangalore. We never hear about Mr. Jiabao's reaction to these letters, or if he even received them, but we do learn all about Balram's remarkable life. Balram spares no punches as he describes the grubby and corrupt underground of his country, and the depravities that people of power partake in. He also doesn't shy away from explaining how he, a poor Indian boy from a small village, made it to the big time in Bangalore, and how he stopped at nothing to get there. The main force that drove him was that he did not want to be a servant all his life. The narrative is outlandish, irreverent and unsparing in his descriptions of the injustices that he observes and endures. But it also heartwarming and endearing as we see all sides of Balram. It certainly describes a lot about India and its politics and religions. And illustrates how a quest for power can change a human being. The language and the satire are exquisite in this book. A brilliant tour-de-force. ( )

Balram Halwai is a complicated man in contemporary India. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.

Balram tells his story of how he overcame being poor to being rich without any help or support from family, friends, employers, police or government. Balram slowly becomes corrupt because everyone else is corrupt too and that’s their system. Balram is likeable and relatable despite his actions. He’s humorous in a cynical and irreverent way. Although the corruption and intimidation from most people, whether rich or poor, was sad, the story was interesting. ( )

Delightful cynical. Razor sharp narrative about modern day India. ( )

This book was an absolute joy to read. The White Tiger (AKA Balram, AKA Munna) is a brilliant narrator and a wonderful character. His character develops very satisfyingly throughout the book, which can be difficult for a narrator, who often has a fixed point of view. The prose is not beautiful or lyrical, but it perfectly serves the story and is very witty. I laughed out loud on a number of occasions.

The politics are very interesting, or maybe I should say the political philosophy is very interesting, since I have no idea how accurately it reflects the political reality in India. I could discuss what it all means here, but I think that would constitute a bigger spoiler than describing who does what to whom and how, since the novel is so carefully structured that each political point is produced just at the moment the reader is ready to consider it.

This is an wonderful romp through contemporary India with a very powerful message. ( )