Review: The White Tiger
Aravind Adiga became one of a few Indian authors to win the Man Booker Prize in 2008 for is first novel, “The White Tiger.” After reading “Brick Lane”, and having enjoyed “The God of Small Things” so many years ago, I decided to pick up the audio version of “Tiger”.
The novel is a great read, and the audio version was very well acted. I always appreciate a narrator that sounds like he’s supposed to! This of course would seem to go without saying.. but some narrators… don’t get me started.
Set in modern day Delhi, “Tiger” is at once a commentary on the incredible disparity between the rich and poor in India, and the massive opportunities that are flowing into the nation as it becomes more competitive with western society.
Balram, the main character of the story, is at once a cold monster, and a funny, charismatic and sympathetic character. The tale is spun in such a way that by the time you realize what Balram really is, and how he was crafted into a murderer by his situation, it’s too late: You’re amused by him. Shocked, embarrassed… but amused. He approaches the narrative with a sarcastic wit that at once acknowledges the inequities of the world, and laughs at the concept of it being any other way. From the most grim level of poverty, he comes to be employed in an occupation that surrounds him with precious and marvelous things he cannot have, cannot even touch. Experiencing the world through Balram’s perspective, one appreciates the cold smell of air conditioning and leather in the sweltering city, and marvels at the pristine shopping malls and homes which have sprung up like mushrooms in the dirt of the crammed city.
Although caste is never expressly discussed in the novel, one experiences caste prejudice as a native might: as a pervasive, subtle reinforcement of the concepts of “Them” and “Us.” When reading “Tiger”, life happens when the rich are not around. The red teeth and smutty magazines of the drivers, the huddle of men accustomed to having no place to sit, the cubicles in which one sleeps when one does not come from the proper genes, they all lay the weight of caste upon the reader’s shoulders for a few hours, and make one aware that birth in India can be fate. Through all of this, we get the tandem feeling of Balram’s self-perceived superiority, that he is the one laughing at a joke the rich don’t really get.
Overall, “Tiger” is a great read, and well-deserving of the Booker. I look forward to Adiga’s next work and hope that it will be as well-delivered and socially conscious as “Tiger” has been.
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