The White Tiger

A Novel

By: Aravind Adiga

Narrated by: John Lee

Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2009.

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2008.

No saris. No scents. No spices. No music. No lyricism. No illusions.

This is India now.

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 a village in the dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for a wealthy man, two Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son.

Through Balram's eyes, we see India as we've never seen it before: the cockroaches and the call centers, the prostitutes and the worshippers, the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger.

With a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create morality 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.

©2008 Aravind Adiga (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Balram's evolution from likable village boy to cold-blooded killer is fascinating and believable." ( Library Journal)
"A brutal view of India's class struggles is cunningly presented in Adiga's debut....It's the perfect antidote to lyrical India." ( Publishers Weekly)

Love the book and movie.

Incredible perspective of someone in poverty willing to do anything to escape, while others are content. The book can be funny in a dark sarcastic manner. Definitely recommend!

Wonderful Indian Booker Prize Winner

I loved this audiobook. The reader has a wonderful Indian accent (although he's an actor, not Indian) and the book is funnier and more human in the audio form than on the page. I have the book, too, but I prefer the audiobook version. It deserved the Booker. A wonderful portrait of the gritty underside of Indian society and corruption. I had wanted to visit Indian, but have decided against it. The book is amazingly honest--unlike The Kite Runner, say, which seemed sentimental to me. This is one of the best novels of the past twenty-five years.

Great book, great narrator.

I have listened to The White Tiger twice in its entirety and several times partially and have several passages memorized. I am sure I will listen to it again and again. It is a compelling, horrific, and completely entertaining story, told with an ironic tone by a captivating first-person narrator. It is read by the enormously talented John Lee, who has become my favorite narrator (listen to him also reading "Snow" and parts of "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society").

Great work

I am through listening to this book. Very well written about the day to day life in India. Initially I thought about completing it in two weeks, however, ended up just in 4 days. Narration by John Lee is excellent.

interesting tour of India, decent novel

(3.5 stars, really) A witty if rather cynical novel, White Tiger tells a story of India through the eyes of Balram Halwai, an impoverished village boy from "the darkness" who manages, through a combination of subservience and cunning, to become a driver for a wealthy landlord, and finally, after a terrible act, a self-made entrepreneur. Balram serves as a sort of sardonic tour guide for the two halves of India that he sees; there are the poor: miserable, forever indentured to menial jobs, and finding initiative only to prevent other poor from rising above them; and there are the rich: corrupt, malicious (or, at best, weak-willed), unapologetically self-serving, and indifferent to the poor. I've noticed that more than a few Indian readers online have criticized the accuracy of Adiga's skewed depiction of the country, but, as an American, I found it an eye-opening read and perhaps not a bad starting point for literary excursions into India. Sometimes, the picture it paints is darkly funny. Sometimes, it's upsetting.

As a novel, White Tiger has a few flaws. Balram's description and wit often hit their targets, but he himself never becomes a very involving character. Mostly, he's just a passive observer until the plot requires him to do something significant. Even the crime he commits has a perfunctory, self-serving aspect that does little to make him a more likeable, interesting, or powerful character. (And why he chooses to tell his life story to the Chinese premier via email, I don't know, though it's an amusing device.)

Still, I got something from Adiga's scathing humor and his tragicomic portrayal of a life caught between poverty and wealth, and servitude and freedom. Being a short read/listen, White Tiger didn't overstay its welcome.

A small snapshot of India

Any additional comments?

I have both read and listened to the White Tiger and must admit the the audio book really helped in terms of the pronunciation of Indian words. It also gave a better sense of what the author was describing. I appreciated this small slice of Indian life as previous books I have read on India have been on a more epic scale. I was disturbed by the underlying violence that is portrayed as part of the life of the Indian working class. Furthermore, the "selling" of people into what appears to be a lifetime of indentured labour is truly frightening. Adiga, by only giving a small taste of the caste system, brings home the fact that it remains an integral part of Indian life - something about which a Westerner is not really aware. The endemic nature of the corruption and how it impacts on the very vulnerable is so beautifully portrayed that the reader is emotionally drawn into the horror of the consequences.This book is beautifully and accessibly written. Adiga has expertly put his characters in the calm centre of a storm without neglecting the impact that the storm is having on the individuals. His anger is restrained but comes through clearly in the simmering anger of his main character. As far as I am concerned this is a masterful work and I look forward to more of his writing in the future.

The real India

This book about the real India. An incredibly painful yet exhilarating book. Must read for Indians.

Narration: why could he not be trained to pronounce the word Ganga?

Interesting

It took me a bit to become interested, but eventually I liked it. It seems to be brutally honest about how things are in India.

A Dramatic Look at Life in India

Where does The White Tiger rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This ranks right at the top. What a compelling story! It is obviously a work of fiction however the depiction of life in India in modern times is very real.

What did you like best about this story?

The format of the book, written in the first person, put the listener into the story in a particularly engrossing manner.

Which character – as performed by John Lee – was your favorite?

The narrator was the main character and was performed with great authenticity. It was hard to imagine anyone else doing this reading.

If you could take any character from The White Tiger out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Probably none of them. They are not a very appealing group but the picture of the Indian caste system was vividly depicted.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book. It requires a strong stomach at a few points but gives a particularly arresting picture of life in India in modern times.

Must read

Excellent narration of an excellent story. Couldn't stop listening. I would highly recommend in story.