Winner of the Man Booker Prize 2008

Born in a village in heartland India, the son of a rickshaw puller, Balram is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he crushes coals and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape - of breaking away from the banks of Mother Ganga, into whose depths have seeped the remains of a hundred generations.

The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Balram’s journey from darkness of village life to the light of entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral, brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable.

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I enjoyed this book, it was easy to forget this was fiction! A witty and unsettling story. Balram is unique in that although he is corrupt you can't help but feel pity, he's a likable character. A very clever writing style which keeps you engaged right to the end.

Sending this on a trip around Australia.

Participants are:

rmjwold
blue1236
bookseekerAT
leeny37
norfolk
deekay57
mcbeff
bekoh
HeatherA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed to rmjwold as first participant in the bookring. Enjoy!

Rec'd from L1nda this morning as a bookring. Flying to Adelaide for the long weekend so glad to have some new reading material! Thanks L1nda!

Wow - this book is a great read, so different to anything else I have read recently. I read it in a day it was so good.
Sending on to blue1236 tomorrow - enjoy!

Thanks rmjwold. Looking forward to reading this - especially after your comments. I'm halfway through Murakami's Norwegian Wood then straight on to this.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Haven't had a chance to read this yet but sending on as not to hold up the ring.

LOVE coming home from work to find a book parcel! I should be able to start on this soon, and it will serve as my India book for 6 books, 6 countries, 6 continents reading challenge as well!
thanks for sharing L1nda.
happy bookcrossing

What a great book - loved the style, the substance and the story. Scathing in its observations about servitude, and life in India.
Sorry I have taken so long with it. Will get it moving again.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Popping in the post to Leeny37.
Thanks to L1nda for sharing - I really enjoyed this one.

Received a few days ago, apologies for the late journal entry! I'll try to get to this as soon as I can...

Wow. What an absolutely brilliant book! It's so unique, so different to anything that I've read lately, and utterly engaging. I was a little reluctant to pick this up (even though I had put my hand up for the bookring) because I have found some previous Booker books to be too tedious for me to actually enjoy. However, with The White Tiger, I was sucked in from the minute I started reading. Who would have thought that you could craft a story set in India from writing letters to the Chinese Premier? Balram Halwai is the hero/anti-hero (depends on how you look at it) and star of the novel, as we follow his life story out of his rural hometown of Laxmangarh into the bright lights of Bangalore. Through Balram's journey, Adiga offers a critique on life in modern India and an insight into the harsh realities for those born into the lower social classes. Not willing to accept his pre-determined fate by his caste, Balram breaks out of the rooster coop but there are consequences to pay. Regardless of his actions, Adiga has created a likeable character with a compelling story. I really enjoyed The White Tiger and even though I haven't read the other nominees, I think it's a deserving Booker Prize winner.

Thanks L1nda for sharing this; I've contacted the next participant and will post it out when I hear back with mailing address information.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Oops, I have been a bit slack. This is now on its way to norfolk.

Thanks leeny37. Received today.

Read in a couple of sittings. An absolutely riveting read and more than worthy of its prize status. Sending on to Deekay57 today.

arrived the other day...just finishing a book so very good timing

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and now winging its way on to mcbeff, enjoy

Have received this, but I was away so it sat with a friend for a while. Looking forward to reading it after my exams are over next week. Thanks for sharing L1nda

Received OK. Thanks for the postcard from sunny Qld mcbeff - just what I need down here in miserable cold & wet NSW :)

Handed off to Heather this afternoon. Thanks for including me in this ring.

Received today, thanks Bec.

Sorry about the anonymous journal entry, I wasn't able to Log-In at the time but all is now fixed (fingers crossed).

Thanks to beko for delivering this book to me, I hope to begin reading it very soon.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Although Balram is a criminal it is hard not to feel some pity for him as he tells his tale.

Returning this to l1nda in a couple of days time.