The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Used Good
- ISBN 10
- 184354721X
- ISBN 13
- 9781843547211
- Seller
-
Kutztown, Pennsylvania, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Free Press, January 2008. Trade Paperback . Used Good. We carry new and used books in our storefront. We want you to be satisfied with your purchase. Please contact us if you have questions regarding this item.
Synopsis
The White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize for the same year. The novel studies the contrast between India's rise as a modern global economy and the main character, who comes from crushing rural poverty.
Reviews
On Aug 3 2014, CloggieDownunder said:
The White Tiger is the first novel by Indian author, Aravind Adiga. The narrative takes the form of a series of eight rambling emails sent over the period of a week from Balram Halwai aka Munna aka The White Tiger to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the eve of his visit to India, and describes how Balram advanced from half-baked school boy son of a rickshaw puller to lowly teashop employee in Laxmangarh to chauffeur of rich Landlords in Delhi to fugitive wanted for the murder of his former employer to Bangalore entrepreneur. All this, under the guise of advising the Premier on producing much-needed entrepreneurs for China. Along the way, Balram comments on the divide in India between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, and details the bribery and corruption that are de rigeur in India. Adiga’s India is slums and sewage, shopping malls and traffic jams, call centres and cockroaches. As the main character, Balram is neither endearing nor wholly odious; in fact none of the characters will hold the reader’s interest for long. Some of Adiga’s descriptive prose is excellent, but this is not really enough to make this a “blazingly savage and brilliant” novel as described on the front cover. Winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008, this is a pleasant enough read, at times blackly funny, but a far cry in quality from the works by those other Indian authors that won the Man Booker Prize in 1997 and 2006.
On Aug 3 2014, a reader said:
The White Tiger is the first novel by Indian author, Aravind Adiga. The narrative takes the form of a series of eight rambling emails sent over the period of a week from Balram Halwai aka Munna aka The White Tiger to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the eve of his visit to India, and describes how Balram advanced from half-baked school boy son of a rickshaw puller to lowly teashop employee in Laxmangarh to chauffeur of rich Landlords in Delhi to fugitive wanted for the murder of his former employer to Bangalore entrepreneur. All this, under the guise of advising the Premier on producing much-needed entrepreneurs for China. Along the way, Balram comments on the divide in India between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless, and details the bribery and corruption that are de rigeur in India. Adiga’s India is slums and sewage, shopping malls and traffic jams, call centres and cockroaches. As the main character, Balram is neither endearing nor wholly odious; in fact none of the characters will hold the reader’s interest for long. Some of Adiga’s descriptive prose is excellent, but this is not really enough to make this a “blazingly savage and brilliant” novel as described on the front cover. Winner of the Man Booker Prize for 2008, this is a pleasant enough read, at times blackly funny, but a far cry in quality from the works by those other Indian authors that won the Man Booker Prize in 1997 and 2006.
On Jul 19 2009, Preatty_mokshayahoocoin said:
Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us 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.
Born in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.
Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.
Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Firefly Bookstore LLC (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 303339
- Title
- The White Tiger
- Author
- Aravind Adiga
- Format/Binding
- Trade Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Paperback
- ISBN 10
- 184354721X
- ISBN 13
- 9781843547211
- Publisher
- Free Press
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- January 2008
- Pages
- 336
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction/General;
Terms of Sale
Firefly Bookstore LLC
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives mis-described or damaged.
About the Seller
Firefly Bookstore LLC
Biblio member since 2013
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
About Firefly Bookstore LLC
Located in downtown Kutztown, we are an independently-owned and operated New and Used bookstore. Started in 2012 by two book aficionados, Firefly Bookstore strives to provide the best in diverse products and customer services. In addition to books on almost any subject, Firefly carries a large range of products including cards, bookmarks, audio books, and family tree charts. We carry over 60,000 items in 3000 sq/ft of space.Additionally, we have a large tabletop game selection, including board games, dice and card games, and Role-Playing titles. We have a wide selection of puzzles from Pomegranate and others. We have in stock new, each year, a large collection of current year Calendars with 100s of titles and styles to choose from, always discounted.We buy and trade books and games whenever the store is open, and we are looking for material for every section. Store credit can be used on new and used material. We are interested in large purchases, such as collections and estate sales. We are particularly looking for gaming books, metaphysics, history, cooking, science, Pennsylvania history and children's books.For current news and announcements, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fireflybookstore.We carry new and used books in our storefront. We want you to be satisfied with your purchase. Please contact us if you have questions regarding this itemStore hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Trade Paperback
- Used to indicate any paperback book that is larger than a mass-market paperback and is often more similar in size to a hardcover...