The White Tiger: an unassuming work of magnificence

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga was a book I should have read several years ago, it won the Man Booker Prize and I’ve heard nothing but praise for this novel, alas it had joined the multitude of other sorry books on my shelves that wait patiently for a bit of attention. Luckily it was the novel chosen for the second book club meeting and what a treat it was. Reading the book was like taking a trip back to the India in which I had spent an incredible three weeks. It was all there: the colour, the grime, the mayhem, the injustice, the heat, the noise, the poverty…I felt as if I’d been plunged straight back into the heart of Mumbai and it felt wonderful. I’d read many novels based in India but I don’t think I’d ever read one which captures so perfectly the chaos, the contrasts, the extremes and inequality that is so rife in the country.

The novel throws us immediately into the world of Balram Halwai, our narrator and protagonist, who is quick to inform us he is a man that has risen to riches from poverty, and also happens to be a murderer. Like a lazy fish I was hooked and found myself being carried along on the quick paced current of the novel, it proved to be a fantastic ride. When I attended the book group I found I wasn’t the only one that had been captivated from the outset.

Adiga is a clever writer, unlike any I’ve had the joy of reading before; he tells us what will happen in the novel at the beginning, we know the path that Balram’s life is going to take but we, the readers, are still eager to read on and find out more. Is this simply because I couldn’t really believe that Balram was a murderer? Or was it the enjoyment of reading a novel that you knew wasn’t going to throw a gut-wrenching twist in your direction at an unforeseen moment? Or possibly the brief introduction we’re given to Balram is sufficient to incite in the reader a curiosity that is strong enough to want to see the puzzle of his life completed, what are the bits that fit in between the beginning product and the end result? Whatever the answer might be I take my hat off to Adiga, I don’t think many authors have the skill required to set up a novel in this manner and ensure that all of the readers remain riveted throughout.

The novel is formed as a series of letters Balram is writing to the Chinese Premier that is due to visit India and his letters not only detail his own tumultuous journey through life but also the corruption that is rife at every level in Indian society, particularly in the government. Although this novel was written in 2008 the corruption depicted within its pages is still prevalent and problematic. When I visited India at the end of 2011 meetings with Indian friends that live and work in Mumbai involved sonnets being sung to the country and town they held so dear, promptly followed by a deep wave of frustration and sadness from the corruption that was holding back their country’s development and progress so gravely. Adiga’s novel underlines the fact that China and India have quickly become the world’s super powers, however as we can already see, India is now lagging behind due to the lack of the tyrannical Communist structure that keeps the population of China in check. Once I’d finished Adiga’s book I remained a little surprised that it had been freely published in India given its open criticism of the government and the political systems that hold the country back, but then again I suppose the fact that it was published perfectly illustrates my earlier comment; in China a book passing such judgement on the country’s government wouldn’t stand a chance of reaching the printing press.

The White Tiger is a book that not only succeeds at making a moving statement about India and its plight but also is a thoroughly enjoyable read. I can’t imagine anybody with an interest in the world around them not enjoying this novel, no matter how grim and sordid it becomes at times.

Adiga is quoted as saying: “the criticism by writers like Flaubert, Balzac and Dickens of the 19th century helped England and France become better societies.”  Having visited India and felt the warmth of its people, the depth of its culture and the abundance of potential the country contains I can only hope Adiga’s novel has helped India in some shape or form make a step towards becoming the better society it longs and deserves to be.