Review of "The White Tiger: A Novel" by Aravind Adiga

 

                                                SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!! 

Balram Halwai was just called Munna (boy) when he was a child, because his relatives were 'too busy' to give him a real name. 



Balram was renamed by his school teacher, a dishonest man who taught almost nothing and stole the lunch money and uniforms provided for the students. 



This conduct is emblematic of Balsam's village of Laxmangarh, which Balsam calls 'the darkness' - a part of India where the majority poor population is mercilessly exploited and misused, especially by corrupt landlords. 



The landlords, who bribe authorities and rig elections, live in luxury.....



…..while the poor have little money; bad hygiene; ramshackle homes; crappy schools; deplorable healthcare; and so on. 



Moreover the downtrodden - who work as servants, rickshaw pullers, cleaners, etc. - seem to be trapped in what Balsam calls the 'Great Rooster Coop.' 



They're unable to better themselves because outside forces keep them hemmed in AND they keep themselves hemmed in with lassitude and hopelessness.

As it happens Balram was a smart boy, one of the few students in his class who learned to read. However Balram's education was cut short by a family debt - money borrowed for a wedding. When the loan was called in.....



…..part of the repayment was young Balram's services in a tea shop.



Ironically, this was a blessing in disguise because Balram used the opportunity to eavesdrop and spy on the patrons, learning things that (in time) helped him get a leg up.

*****

As the story opens, Balram has come a long way from the streets of Laxmangarh. He's now an entrepreneur in Bangalore, running a taxi company that caters to call centers, whose schedules conform to business hours in the west.



Balram learns that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is coming to India to discuss business and entrepreneurship, so he decides to tell the Premier the story of his life. Balram narrates his biography in a long letter, written over seven evenings, under the light of a large chandelier. 



Balram immediately confesses that he murdered his last employer and stole 700,000 rupees, which permitted his current success.

Though much of Balram's story is grim, he tells it with forthrightness and humor. Balram begins his tale by writing about his childhood - which is bleak, and his family - which is poor and under the thumb of his domineering grandmother Kusum. 



Balram goes on to explain that he's an ambitious fellow who - by dint of his planning, scheming, and powers of persuasion - manages to become the junior driver for a rich family in Dhanbad. The family is composed of a father - the Stork; older son - the Mongoose; younger son - Mr. Ashok; and Mr. Ashok's wife - Pinky Madam. 

The Mongoose is the most unpleasant of the bunch, frequently shouting orders and treating the servants like thieves.



Balram's duties in Dhanbad include chauffeuring, taking care of the car.....



…..cooking, cleaning, buying liquor for his employers, and massaging the Stork's feet - an activity he describes in cringeworthy detail. 



The family members aren't cruel, but they treat Balram like a low class serf. A moment's lethargy earns Balram a bonk on the head and harsh words; an invitation to 'make yourself comfortable' means Balram may squat on the floor; Pinky Madam derides Balram for his rotten black teeth and dirty clothes; Balram is instructed not to listen to music or use air conditioning when he's alone in the car - often for hours, while he's waiting for a family member; the Mongoose is infuriated when he thinks Balram found a one rupee coin on the car floor and kept it; Balram sleeps in a smelly hovel shared with the senior chauffeur; etc.



Worst of all, when a member of the Stork's family is involved in a deadly hit-and-run accident, Balram is told to sign a confession and take the blame. In the end the family is able to smooth things over with bribes, but if they couldn't, Balram would have gone to prison - which is chock full of servants 'taking the rap' for their bosses. 

To add insult to injury, the 'lower classes' aren't allowed to enter malls or shop in 'nice' stores. 



Instead, shopping areas for poor people are tucked out of sight, where beggars and knife sharpeners congregate.



Balram's situation improves a little when Mr. Ashok and Pinky Madam move to Delhi. Balram wants to go along as their chauffeur so he blackmails the family's senior driver - who's secretly a Muslim - into quitting. In Delhi, Mr. Ashok and Pinky live on the upper floor of a luxurious apartment building..... 



.....while Balram sleeps in the basement, under a mosquito net, in a hot space crawling with cockroaches. 

Balram does get a higher salary in Delhi, and the opportunity to scam money on the side. Coached by a friend Balram calls Vitiligo-lips (for a skin condition) Balram learns to siphon gas from Mr. Ashok's car and sell it; use Mr. Ashok's car as a taxi; sell Mr. Ashok's empty black label liquor bottles to people who re-use them; and more.

Balram also observes some of the family's more unsavory activities, like bribing politicians and public officials so their businesses won't have to pay taxes. 



When Balram contrasts the hundreds of thousands of rupees the family gives away in bribes to the one rupee coin he supposedly stole, the inequity of his situation is very clear.



As we've known all along Balram finally commits homicide and theft, knowing this will be avenged on his entire family - who'll pay with their lives. Balram doesn't care, though, and happily uses the stolen money - and lessons he learned from the rich - to become a success. 

In the course of the story we also learn about Indian marriage customs..... 



gods.....



family responsibility.....



red light districts..... 



eating habits; and more. 



On the downside, we read about the massive corruption that permeates Indian society.



I'm sure there are many fine people in India, but none of them show up in this book, which presents an unflattering portrait of India and it's population. The country's inequities result, at least in part, from India's historical caste system, and change is probably inevitable as the country matures. 

I found the book enlightening and engaging, and was on tenterhooks to see how Balram committed his dastardly crime and got away with it, all of which is quite dramatic. I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy literary fiction.

This book won the 2008 Man Booker prize, which is awarded to the best original novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom. 


Author Aravind Adiga won the 2008 Man Booker Prize

Rating: 4 stars