White Tiger

Now, here's a book I'd recommend: White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga. The story of a kid growing up in a poor, rural village, this novel paints a rough if unflattering portrait of real-life in India. In letters to a Chinese official, the narrator and protagonist Balram reviews the twists and turns of his life, revealing the dark and light, the ying and yang of everything around him.

A rite of passage story, the reader is drawn in by Balram's innocence and naivete. He is a meager son of India, among so many just like him. Pulled from school to support his family, Balram's last name identifies him as a part of the sweets-makers caste and he gets work in a tea shop. With a lucky break, he manages to get a job as driver, moving up in the world. But taken to the city, far from his family and village, he changes.

Living among the wealthy, he eavesdrops on conversations, learning, listening. Still a servant, however, he cannot pass through the bars of his caste cage. As the caged white tiger, Balram watches and waits. And in another stroke of luck, he seizes a chance opening of the gate, pouncing on any standing in his way to freedom. Violent in action and sly in reaction, he manages to avoid punishment for his wrongdoing and make it in society. But once Balram frees himself his cage, he gives more respect to those still in their cages than those who've broken free. A boss, rich, respected, the white tiger identifies with and provides for those who remind him of who he once was.

Corruption among the higher castes, their abuses visited upon those below them, the author spares none in this work. While a quick read, the story is full of details an outsider can appreciate, from men's addictions to chewing betel nuts to the difference in deposit value of empty liquor bottles. Adiga does not spare religion in this work either. Hinduism a mask for Balram, a formality, he uses it as a ploy to better his situation. A true entrepreneur. Likewise, prejudice against Muslims surfaces in the novel. India, a melting pot, and, as Adiga describes it, ready to boil.