The White Tiger

A book of pun and dark humor.
Quoting macbeth "not all the waters of the ocean, nor all the perfumes of arabia can wash the blood off my hands"..... quoting arvind adiga "All the skin whitening creams sold in the markets of India won't clean my hands again ..."
His style of dramatic writing and his insightful comments on the facade of India and its mannerisms as a whole left me spell bound and waiting for more. The biggest compliment a book can get, I think, is the fact that you can't put it down till you finish it. The White Tiger is such a book. It is the story of how Munna, aka Balram moved his way up from a tortured driver in Dhanbad and Delhi to an entrepreneur in Bangalore and how he became a murderer and what were his sentiments all this while, particularly about the Rooster Coop; the system which keeps India subservient after all these years under the British rule, what makes a man remain a slave all his life. His character, with all its complexities and gray shades, still makes us relate to him at some point and his comments and feelings are extremely entertaining and empathy-generating at the same time.
After books like The Kite Runner and Omar Pahmuk's stuff, this was a breath of fresh air for me. A totally different style, a completely different way of putting things and a completely out-of-the-blue topic. For a person who doesn't really appreciate melodramas and hyperboles in books, this was a novel experience which made me feel...this guy is something. Story of a murderer, story of indian politics in all its hideousness, story of the rise of a man from rags to riches, story of caustic humor mixed with amazing similes......this book is certainly a keep.
Rock on, Adiga!!!