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title: "The White Tiger: Booker Prize Winner 2008"
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# The White Tiger: Booker Prize Winner 2008

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The White Tiger: Booker Prize Winner 2008 : Adiga, Aravind: desertcart.in: Books

Review: Deserved to win the Booker Prize. A must read for every Indian. - Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger attempts to reveal the "real India" which is almost always hidden behind the façade of the "Incredible India" campaign put into motion by our government. The protagonist Balram Halwai alias Munna writes of his own experiences to the Chinese prime minister, the fictional Mr. Jiabao. In a span of seven nights Balram narrates his journey from the oppressive life he used to lead in a village near Dhanbad to how he became a successful entrepreneur, owning a travel agency business in Bangalore. The descriptions afforded in the novel are life like, true and original. Some may argue that Adiga sometimes exaggerates a few points. However after careful reflection, it is felt that Adiga does actually portray the truth, which becomes so unbelievable to us that we take it for an exaggeration. The novel is replete with glowing passages. For example, this is how Balram describes the demise of his father. Observe how brilliantly Adiga criticises the pathetic medical system in the Indian villages: "I came to Dhanbad after my father's death. He had been ill for some time, but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three different politicians before three different elections. When he began spitting blood that morning, Kishan and I took him by boat across the river. We kept washing his mouth with water from the river, but the water was so polluted that it made him spit more blood. There was a rickshaw-puller on the other side of the river who recognized my father; he took the three of us for free to the government hospital. There were three black goats sitting on the steps to the large, faded white building; the stench of goat faeces wafted out from the open door. The glass in most of the windows was broken; a cat was staring out at us from one cracked window." As can be seen from the passage above, Adiga shows how difficult life is for the poor, especially in the villages. He brilliantly satirizes the tendency of politicians to promise social improvement before the brink of elections. He also takes on the pathetic condition of the rivers of India, the waters of which we consider sacred, holy and pure, using it for religious ceremonies. Yet these waters are the most polluted. What comes across powerfully in the novel is a tone of anger, frustration and protest. The language in which Balram the protagonist narrates the story is important to serve this purpose. Some people criticize Adiga's writing style in this novel saying that it is undeserving of the Man Booker Prize that he won in 2008. I strongly beg to differ. Rather I would say that it is this style of his writing, this note of frustration and seething anger, that makes the novel all the more worthwhile to read and appreciate. It is a book that serves as a mouthpiece for exposing the sufferings of the poor and the oppressed. Various issues that we see everyday in newspapers are brought to the fore: politicians bribing ministers, murderers escaping from policemen who don't even lodge an FIR, servants mistreated by their so called masters, the urge for the poor man to become rich and successful through unfair means, patients dying in hospitals for lack of treatment and so on on. The novel is essentially a satire on the shams and the hypocrisies of Indians and the tendency of the rich to look down upon the poor. Adiga believes that there are "two Indias", one of the rich and the other of the poor. Like Charles Dickens whose novels served as a mirror to reflect the darker side of Victorian England amidst its progressive outlook and modern worldview, Aravind Adiga through The White Tiger does the exact thing to expose the "real" India. Many people from the West have this mistaken notion that the poor people of this country are spiritually richer, that they find joys in their daily struggles. Adiga lays this discussion to rest. Through the sufferings of the people of Laxmangarh, and of Balram's brother Kishan and his father, the author shows that the poor do not want to be poor, but lead a comfortable life. Some readers complain that Adiga purposefully exposes the poverty of India since the West loves reading about the filth in our country. "Slumdog Millionaire" did this and won the Oscar while Adiga also bags the Booker Prize writing about the same issues. However, there is one significant difference. Adiga is not glorifying poverty or ridiculing India in front of the West. He is basically trying to protest the unfair divide between the rich and the poor that exists in this country. The novel thus is an angry outburst. In India, a man is not known by the company that he keeps but by the vehicle that he drives, or more precisely through his material possessions. Let me provide another example. Here the police commissioner conspires with the murderer to hide his crime, while the victim's brother helplessly leaves the police station: "The number plates will be changed tomorrow," the assistant commissioner said. "We'll say it was a hit-and-run. Another car will be substituted. We keep battered cars for this purpose here. You're very lucky that your Qualis hit a man on a bicycle". The author then observes: " A man on a bicycle getting killed- the police don't even have to register the case. A man on a motorbike getting killed- they would have to register that. A man in a car getting killed- they would have thrown me in jail. " Such is the condition in India. And the saddest part is it is true. Everyone should read This White Tiger. That's the least they can do.
Review: A gripping tale - I'm a young college student, and with all your peers going on endlessly about the latest movies and TV shows, it's hard to put your mind to reading a book. So after a gap of nearly an entire semester, wrapped in the comfort of my blanket, I've resumed reading. And what a book for a restart! By far, Adiga's concept is nothing new. The story of a young boy from a downtrodden family in the poorest of villages rising through the ranks to finish at the top of the society, ignoring the means of this achievement, is something that has been explored before. Take for example, Chetan Bhagat's book, Revolution 2020, or maybe even Academy Award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire (I reckon the latter's further apart), and you see that the lines running through the stories are parallel. Nevertheless, a prominent difference lies in the manner of story-telling. And this is what caught my eye right at the beginning. The picture of India that we see advertised on TV, websites and any other form of media accessible to you and me is a beautiful one. The question then that must be asked is, "Is it the real one?" Adiga lands a real sucker-punch in bringing you to the harsh realities of life in the lands of the country he calls 'The Darkness' and 'The Light'. With a no-nonsense approach, he thrusts you into life in the lands. Sarcasm is strewn through the pages as the narrator tackles menace after menace of 'modern' society. Though the book has no evident plot twist, it takes hold of you from the first page and doesn't let you go till you're done. The storyline is fast-paced and keeps moving ahead, only pausing at times of emotional thought-processing on the narrator's part. Truth be told, I began reading it barely 8 hours ago, and with a modest couple of breaks in between, here I am, completing this review. If you're looking for a quick read that will bring you right back to Earth when you've got your head in the clouds, this is it.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #5,702 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #103 in Indian Writing (Books) #257 in Contemporary Fiction (Books) |
| Country of Origin  | India |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (11,715) |
| Dimensions  | 12.8 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm |
| ISBN-10  | 8172238479 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-8172238476 |
| Importer  | Atlantic Publishers and Distributors (P) Ltd., 7/22, Ansari Road, Darya Ganj, New Delhi - 110002 INDIA, Email – customercare@atlanticbooks.com, Ph – 011-47320500 |
| Item Weight  | 245 g |
| Language  | English |
| Net Quantity  | 500.00 Grams |
| Paperback  | 328 pages |
| Publisher  | HarperCollins; Latest edition (3 November 2009); HarperCollins Publishers; Product Safety Manager; enquiries@harpercollins.ie |

## Images

![The White Tiger: Booker Prize Winner 2008 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Nes-1tfPL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Deserved to win the Booker Prize. A must read for every Indian.
*by T***S on 12 April 2016*

Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger attempts to reveal the "real India" which is almost always hidden behind the façade of the "Incredible India" campaign put into motion by our government. The protagonist Balram Halwai alias Munna writes of his own experiences to the Chinese prime minister, the fictional Mr. Jiabao. In a span of seven nights Balram narrates his journey from the oppressive life he used to lead in a village near Dhanbad to how he became a successful entrepreneur, owning a travel agency business in Bangalore. The descriptions afforded in the novel are life like, true and original. Some may argue that Adiga sometimes exaggerates a few points. However after careful reflection, it is felt that Adiga does actually portray the truth, which becomes so unbelievable to us that we take it for an exaggeration. The novel is replete with glowing passages. For example, this is how Balram describes the demise of his father. Observe how brilliantly Adiga criticises the pathetic medical system in the Indian villages: "I came to Dhanbad after my father's death. He had been ill for some time, but there is no hospital in Laxmangarh, although there are three different foundation stones for a hospital, laid by three different politicians before three different elections. When he began spitting blood that morning, Kishan and I took him by boat across the river. We kept washing his mouth with water from the river, but the water was so polluted that it made him spit more blood. There was a rickshaw-puller on the other side of the river who recognized my father; he took the three of us for free to the government hospital. There were three black goats sitting on the steps to the large, faded white building; the stench of goat faeces wafted out from the open door. The glass in most of the windows was broken; a cat was staring out at us from one cracked window." As can be seen from the passage above, Adiga shows how difficult life is for the poor, especially in the villages. He brilliantly satirizes the tendency of politicians to promise social improvement before the brink of elections. He also takes on the pathetic condition of the rivers of India, the waters of which we consider sacred, holy and pure, using it for religious ceremonies. Yet these waters are the most polluted. What comes across powerfully in the novel is a tone of anger, frustration and protest. The language in which Balram the protagonist narrates the story is important to serve this purpose. Some people criticize Adiga's writing style in this novel saying that it is undeserving of the Man Booker Prize that he won in 2008. I strongly beg to differ. Rather I would say that it is this style of his writing, this note of frustration and seething anger, that makes the novel all the more worthwhile to read and appreciate. It is a book that serves as a mouthpiece for exposing the sufferings of the poor and the oppressed. Various issues that we see everyday in newspapers are brought to the fore: politicians bribing ministers, murderers escaping from policemen who don't even lodge an FIR, servants mistreated by their so called masters, the urge for the poor man to become rich and successful through unfair means, patients dying in hospitals for lack of treatment and so on on. The novel is essentially a satire on the shams and the hypocrisies of Indians and the tendency of the rich to look down upon the poor. Adiga believes that there are "two Indias", one of the rich and the other of the poor. Like Charles Dickens whose novels served as a mirror to reflect the darker side of Victorian England amidst its progressive outlook and modern worldview, Aravind Adiga through The White Tiger does the exact thing to expose the "real" India. Many people from the West have this mistaken notion that the poor people of this country are spiritually richer, that they find joys in their daily struggles. Adiga lays this discussion to rest. Through the sufferings of the people of Laxmangarh, and of Balram's brother Kishan and his father, the author shows that the poor do not want to be poor, but lead a comfortable life. Some readers complain that Adiga purposefully exposes the poverty of India since the West loves reading about the filth in our country. "Slumdog Millionaire" did this and won the Oscar while Adiga also bags the Booker Prize writing about the same issues. However, there is one significant difference. Adiga is not glorifying poverty or ridiculing India in front of the West. He is basically trying to protest the unfair divide between the rich and the poor that exists in this country. The novel thus is an angry outburst. In India, a man is not known by the company that he keeps but by the vehicle that he drives, or more precisely through his material possessions. Let me provide another example. Here the police commissioner conspires with the murderer to hide his crime, while the victim's brother helplessly leaves the police station: "The number plates will be changed tomorrow," the assistant commissioner said. "We'll say it was a hit-and-run. Another car will be substituted. We keep battered cars for this purpose here. You're very lucky that your Qualis hit a man on a bicycle". The author then observes: " A man on a bicycle getting killed- the police don't even have to register the case. A man on a motorbike getting killed- they would have to register that. A man in a car getting killed- they would have thrown me in jail. " Such is the condition in India. And the saddest part is it is true. Everyone should read This White Tiger. That's the least they can do.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A gripping tale
*by N***E on 13 December 2015*

I'm a young college student, and with all your peers going on endlessly about the latest movies and TV shows, it's hard to put your mind to reading a book. So after a gap of nearly an entire semester, wrapped in the comfort of my blanket, I've resumed reading. And what a book for a restart! By far, Adiga's concept is nothing new. The story of a young boy from a downtrodden family in the poorest of villages rising through the ranks to finish at the top of the society, ignoring the means of this achievement, is something that has been explored before. Take for example, Chetan Bhagat's book, Revolution 2020, or maybe even Academy Award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire (I reckon the latter's further apart), and you see that the lines running through the stories are parallel. Nevertheless, a prominent difference lies in the manner of story-telling. And this is what caught my eye right at the beginning. The picture of India that we see advertised on TV, websites and any other form of media accessible to you and me is a beautiful one. The question then that must be asked is, "Is it the real one?" Adiga lands a real sucker-punch in bringing you to the harsh realities of life in the lands of the country he calls 'The Darkness' and 'The Light'. With a no-nonsense approach, he thrusts you into life in the lands. Sarcasm is strewn through the pages as the narrator tackles menace after menace of 'modern' society. Though the book has no evident plot twist, it takes hold of you from the first page and doesn't let you go till you're done. The storyline is fast-paced and keeps moving ahead, only pausing at times of emotional thought-processing on the narrator's part. Truth be told, I began reading it barely 8 hours ago, and with a modest couple of breaks in between, here I am, completing this review. If you're looking for a quick read that will bring you right back to Earth when you've got your head in the clouds, this is it.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Darkly Witty Journey Through India's Underbelly 🐅
*by B***. on 14 May 2025*

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger offers a gripping, satirical look at modern India through the eyes of Balram Halwai, a man who rises from poverty to entrepreneurial success. Told in the form of letters to the Chinese Premier, Balram’s voice is sharp, darkly humorous, and unapologetically honest. The novel explores themes of class struggle, corruption, and ambition, painting a vivid picture of the stark contrasts within Indian society. A compelling read that challenges perceptions and leaves a lasting impression.

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