The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

The White Tiger: Booker Prize Winner 2008 is a classic novel which lays light on a person of the deprived section of the society, who is desperate to come out of his misery and lead an independent life. In order to free himself from the clutches of social and financial misery, he indulges in the negative and shady activities and is unapologetic about them as he pompously justifies them. The protagonist, Balram Halwai, was born and brought up in a small village. Though he was a bright student, Balram had to discontinue his studies due to bad financial position of his family.

He starts working at a tea shop with one of his cousins. Being an ambitious person, he learns to drive cars and becomes a chauffeur. As a result he moves to the capital, Delhi for his new job. Coming from a small village and suddenly moving into a metro city is a cultural shock for him. Experiencing corruption and the likes, he gets influenced by the negativity and murders his owner for money. He then shifts base to Bangalore, starts own business with the stolen money and becomes well-to-do. With such an account as its background, this book is narrated in a dark yet hilarious way.

The book indulges into the details about the country’s corruption scene in a light as well as sarcastic tone. This edition is available in Paperback and can be ordered online at Amazon India. The book won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 and also made its way into the New York Times Best Seller list.

Aravind Adiga is the writer of this novel. He was born in October 1974, in Chennai. Besides being an Indian author, he is a journalist. His other authored editions comprise of; Between The Assassinations and The Last Man in Tower.