Slumdog Millionaire

By: Vikas Swarup

Narrated by: Christopher Simpson

Vikas Swarup's spectacular debut novel, the inspiration for the award-winning film, opens in a jail cell in Mumbai, where Ram Mohammad Thomas is being held after correctly answering all 12 questions on India's biggest quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion?

It is hard to believe that a poor orphan who has never read a newspaper or gone to school could win such a contest. But through a series of exhilarating tales, Ram explains to his lawyer how episodes in his life gave him the answer to each question. In his warm-hearted tale lies all the comedy, tragedy, joy and pathos of modern India.

Hear the whole story behind the Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire!

©2005 Vikas Swarup (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks America

An Epic Driveway Moment

This story is riveting from beginning to end. I was late for everything the entire time I was listening because I just couldn't hit the pause button. The story captures your imagination and the narration is sublime. Do yourself a favor: get it. You won't regret the credit spent.

Great Book

What made the experience of listening to Slumdog Millionaire the most enjoyable?

Wasnt sure about this book... heard lots about it but remember not really being interested in the movie. The book was wonderful!!~ even the narrator did a fab job. Highly recommended.

Don't just watch the movie, read this book.

I had never seen the movie before reading this book. I have since watched the movie, and although they are similar, the book far outshines the movie.

The book has a bit of a fairy tale/whimsical quality to it. Don't get me wrong, there are still some awful things happening in the world of Slumdog Millionaire, but it just doesn't seem quite as dark as the movie.

This has been one of my favorite audio books of the last few years.

Great!

The story is absolutely great! Never saw the movie, but I will now definitely have to do that. I got this book as a daily deal and I am very happy that I did. The book was so well written, everything completely made sense yet it wasn't one of those 'predictable' books.
I will be listening to this again. The narrator did an awesome job. The different accents/voices showcased by Christopher Simpson made the book jump and dance so much more! I can't think of a better way to try to tell you that you need to listen to this book, it's been a while since I've come across such a masterful melding of talent.

Great For A Quick Read

I love this story and the overflow of culture, and the narrator really makes it come to life.

I love a good story

I love it when I have two views of a great story: cinema and book! I enjoyed both, but I especially enjoyed the pictorial sense of India down-deep, and I enjoyed listening to the main character in his own voice. The story is exceedingly far fetched, but very-very enjoyable.

Almost no culture shock, just an amazing story!

Any additional comments?

Slumdog Millionaire is a quick read (the Audible recording is just over ten hours) and if I’d been actually reading it, I think it’s one that I would have been frustrated having to put down. As it was, I listened to it in its entirety in a single day at work. I usually listen at double speed, but I start at normal speed just to make sure I can follow everything well. The fact that the story is set in India, a place I’ve never been, with a culture I’m only minutely familiar with, I didn’t feel lost. I was swept away. No, I don’t think I could go there and make sense of anything, but for the time I spent there with Ram, I belonged in that world. What culture shock I had was surprisingly unimportant. I suppose you could argue that the story could happen anywhere, but I honestly think the setting was perfect for the tale Swarup was telling. I honestly cannot imagine this story set in America.

There is so much tying Ram’s past to his present life during and after the taping of the show, that I have to give great commendation to the author. Swarup left no loose ends, even wrapping up one that I hadn’t really thought of as being a loose end. He brings characters you think are somewhat inconsequential, or ones that walk into and out of Ram’s life, back into his adult life from his childhood in ways that are both surprising and satisfying. The questions for the quiz are great, and seeing the behind the scenes filming of the quiz show was enough to make me giddy while still making me hate the show’s producers for how they look down on Ram. Swarup has created an amazing character with a huge heart, one that you cannot help but sympathize with, even when he makes wrong or poor decisions. It’s easy to understand Ram without having to be dragged through his every thought process. On the whole, this is just an amazing, well thought-out novel that is pulled off well in the writing.

You eventually reap what you sow

I thought this was an intriguing book, however sometimes hard to follow the timeline of events. I actually had to go back and relisten to the first half of the book. The narrator was great but has a thick indian accent. I found it hard to keep track of the many indian names. Great ending. Jennifer

Pleasantly surprised

I don't care for sex and foul language in my books and knowing this was made into an R rated movie I purchased it cautiously. I was pleasantly surprised. I would label the book PG-13. There is no explicit sex and while there is some swearing it was not gratuitous or excessive. The book has a great moral and a postive message. After listening to the book I looked up the summary of the movie. It doesn't sound like the movie is much like the book at all. I'm glad I listened to the book. I would rate it in the top 3 that I have listened to so far.

Spellbinding!

I was totally swept up in this story from beginning to end! Great writing, amazing performance and a story that informs, tears at the heart and proves that good can overcome evil!