Getting your teeth into The White Tiger (From Swindon Advertiser)

Getting your teeth into The White Tiger

4:39pm Friday 1st October 2010 in Literary Corner

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger follows the ruthless and gripping tale of Balram Halwai, an impoverished servant from The Darkness of India who makes his way to the top via a series of questionable methods including the murder of his master, Mr Ashok.

Yet the reader is forced to ally with him on account of the awful experiences he has had to live through during the early years of his life.

Having made his way from the terrible conditions which he and his family find next to impossible to escape from, Balram manages to find a way to become the number two driver of an extremely wealthy – yet corrupted – Indian family. As soon as he enters the house of these seemingly foreign people, he understands the difference between the lives of inhabitants from the same country; some live in splendour, others in poverty.

Adiga succeeds in delving deep into the darkest corners of India and revealing the alarming state of the working class, or The Rooster Coop as he puts it, which is the convincing concept that demonstrates just how difficult it is to detach oneself from the core of poverty. Balram explains in his characteristically colloquial tone that if a transporter were to deliver a large sum of money from one rich man to another, he would almost certainly not even steal one rupee of it because he is aware of the shocking consequences that would follow. His family would be located, and murdered.

Although the start of the novel takes time to settle into, its intimate voice helped me remain engaged and feel involved with what was going on.

Once I had breached the centre of the book, I was away and discovered that it was extremely hard to put down. Not only does its quick speed make for an enthralling read, but new ideas are born every so often which keep the brain ticking too.

I genuinely felt as if I had taken the position of Balram, embraced this new endeavour of driving an eminently powerful man around New Delhi, and wriggled my way through a troublesome routine.

However, these are only the foundations which lead to Balram’s unprecedented voyage to becoming a triumphant entrepreneur. What he goes through on the way is for you to find out.

By Oliver Radway, 16, Eton College