The White Tiger

A Novel

By: Aravind Adiga

Narrated by: John Lee

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)

A wonderful book read by a first-rate reader

I loved the book and the reading. First-rate all the way. While it's by no means a chair-gripper, it is nonetheless compelling in terms of its psychological portrait. I recommend the book without reservation.

So offensive

Why get a British guy to do an Indian accent when you could just get an Indian guy to do it? Not only is it offensive, but almost impossible to listen to because of all the mispronunciations. Honestly just a terrible performance for a good story.

Stereotypical Indian accent for a great book

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The Narrator of course! What is ganja? Can this guy not even take the minimal effort to research to pronounce a few words right. John Lee is yet another ignorant Westerner with a poor imitation of the so called "Indian" Accent. Would an English narrator of a French novel get away with this? People would mock him if he tried french but pronounced it incorrectly. Please re-record this book with an Indian narrator or re-record it with an American or Englishman who does not feign an accent. It is quite insulting...really....

Who was your favorite character and why?

Halwai

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator could have taken the pain to pronounce Indian proper nouns as they should be said.

Was The White Tiger worth the listening time?

yes. Only because it is a good book.

Long story made enjoyable!

This book was "assigned" for my book club.
I didn't have time to read so I bought the audio.
Because the narrator is from India, the speaker gave the story authenticity with his accent and musical speech.
The story was fun to listen to.
It is a modern and compelling story.
Well worth listening to!

An Entrepreneur in India

The well written and well narrated saga of the evolution of a poor young man in India into a successful
entrepreneur via a most interesting path. The book is at times interesting and informative, it is funny and also shocking. There are many layers to the story and it leaves you thinking about it long after you are done listening. I would recommend this book.

A very good Listen

I highly recommend this audiobook. I know it's not perfect, but I started it on my walks to work and found I reached the office too soon. Then I listened to it while hiking up the Grouse Grind and the time just flew by - now THAT says something! The story is engaging and fascinating - well written. It wasn't always easy to hear every story within the story, but they did portray the sad reality of life in India. The author's sense of humour comes as a surprise and had me laughing out loud on the streets of Vancouver. Note - I had trouble understanding the narrator at first but soon got used to him and his fast-speaking, lilting voice. I didn't want it to end and missed being in their lives when the story was over.

Understand India

I have been to India, seen the sights, but now I understand the people. Great

cringeworthy narration

Excellent plot, vivid portraiture of socio-economic divide in india. The listening experience is ruined by John Lee's cringeworthy attempt at "indian accent"

I'm 78 years old and this is a fantastic book.

This is probably in the top 20 books
I've ever read.. it was educational, inspiring and made you appreciate what you had.

Excellent writing and narration!

Since it won the Booker prize, you can pretty much expect that the writing is stellar. The topic is current, real, and TOTALLY believable. With the recent plethora of superb Indian writers, this is one not to be missed. For Audible listeners though, let's talk about narration. John Lee is becoming, for me, enough of a reason to listen to a book. - ANY book. His Indian accent is "spot on" and his reading sublime. If you enjoyed the narration of Pillars of the Earth and World Without End you will be even more impressed when you hear this. I guarantee it!! In only eight hours, you get a listen totally worth your time and money. I can't recommend this book and the narration highly enough. It's a MUST!!!