The White Tiger

Truly readable books cannot be savoured slowly. Like ice cream on a hot summer’s day they must be quickly consumed or risk losing most of their pleasure. This was exactly what I experienced with The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Immediately, I was drawn to the audacious narrator and main character Balram, who throughout the novel is indignant about the concept of slavery, yet remains comedic in his letters to the Premier of China. In this book, Balram, the White Tiger, fights the system in order to reach his goal of becoming a powerful entrepreneur.

Adiga uses simple language throughout the novel, as it is told from the illiterate Balram's point of view. The casual racism and crude language that occur numerous times enhance the wittiness of this satire book. However, I think that The White Tiger has a deeper meaning. It is full of self criticism. Adiga was brave enough to reveal the darker side of India, his own country, where corruption, nepotism and bribery are frequent. This novel portrays a side of India that few have written about, although it tackles it from an Indian perspective, which gives it an added level of legitimacy. I went on a trip to India last year, and saw a population completely different to that of this novel. The citizens that I was around were of the lowest class, and had close to nothing to survive off of. The India in this novel has gone through an influx of western technology compared to what I saw, but nevertheless I was fascinated by the glorious nation that I read about in this novel.  

Although Adiga’s book involves all the elements of murder, betrayal, treachery, and intrigue, it is clear that he never intended for it to be read as a taut thriller: Balram’s eventual killing of his employer is disclosed early in the novel, and his subversions of authority, along with relentless self-justifications, are amply littered along the way. The novel is funny in places, but remains a tragic story to most. In my opinion, the best books are those that transport me from my own world into someone else's. I would say that by that criteria, The White Tiger is 100% successful. 

Wryly, through this page-turning novel, Adiga appears to ponder the future of India. “These days, there are just two castes…and only two destinies: eat — or get eaten up.” According to Adiga, India has well and truly broken out of the coop; never mind that moralities are ignored along the way, and never mind that innocent lives are sacrificed, especially when they can be justified. The White Tiger not only entertains readers, but also gives them a reason to stop and think. The novel is a biting, dramatic prophecy of an Indian upheaval that is yet to occur.