The White Tiger

By: Aravind Adiga

Narrated by: Bindya Solanki

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

British Book Awards, Author of the Year, 2009.

Man Booker Prize, Fiction, 2008.

Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. Too poor to finish school, he has to work in a teashop until the day a rich man hires him as a chauffeur, and takes him to live in Delhi. The city is a revelation. Balram becomes aware of immense wealth all around him, and realizes the only way he can become part of it is by murdering his master.

The White Tiger presents a raw and unromanticized India, both thrilling and shocking.

©2008 Aravind Adiga (P)2008 Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Critic reviews

"Dazzling...an Indian novel that explodes the cliches...It's a thrilling ride through a global power...Brimming with idiosyncrasy, sarcastic, cunning and often hilarious." ( The Independent)

Brilliant

Brilliant, witty, bleak, but incisive perspective of contemporary India's caste system. The narrator is a unique character. Highly recommended. The narrator is fabulous - I became totally involved in the story.

Great!! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Would you listen to The White Tiger again? Why?

Probably not, too many other things to listen to!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Badram, the main character was my favourite. He had such a great tone and way of narrating.

What about Bindya Solanki’s performance did you like?

Excellent expression.

a fantastic book about the 'darkness' in India

loved the gut wrenching style of the author. the plot was good except for the final chapter which seemed a bit vague. the Indian accent narration makes no sense though. rural Indians don't speak in English among themselves. so narrating with an Indian accent doesn't make this 'realistic' in any manner. it would, if say this was about an Indian American character in the USA.

White Tiger

The story is captivating as it reflects on the struggles of the poor in India and the arrogance and debauchery of the rich. It is provactive in parts and disturbing in others. I expected a stronger Indian accent to be apparent in the reading of the narrative and was a little disappointed that this was not so - but I got used to it after the first half hour and grew more intrigued by the story thereafter.

awesome story telling

so interesting, kept me going. Felt so real, wonxer if yhis is the reality in the "darkness". The narrator did a good job. The author is brilliant.

5 stars!

A highly entertaining story, brilliantly written, and excellently performed.

Story Telling and Narrative style keeps the tempo

The story is captivating, while the Narrator's tyle and personifaction of character kept me a nice tempo in the audiobook.

Refreshing and sarcastic look over Indian success story, with pinch of salt.

Absolutely Love It !!

I read the book and listened the audio . Both Great. And i really loved the narration by Bindya Solanki
I cannot compare it to any other book - its a unique , creative and insightful commentary on Indian society and culture.

A Rags to Riches entertaining read

I enjoyed this. Always good to read about the poor, the grubby, the disadvantaged, the unfortunate who rise above their sad stations, their desperate circumstances and finally enjoy the good life. It was particularly good that our hero escaped sleeping with the cockroaches - and the fact that he enriched himself by taking out his benefactor seemed perfectly all right. One had to wonder whether he was a better person as the disadvantaged groveler or the opportunistic advantaged.....

Wow! What a spectacular journey.

What made the experience of listening to The White Tiger the most enjoyable?

The narrator was outstanding. I loved the first person narrative. The story was engaging and eventually, uplifting.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Bahram (Muna) was my favourite character. He saw beyond the squalor of his life and was able to see what was possible for him.

What does Bindya Solanki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voice was so well suited to this narrative. I loved her accent and I thought she did all the various characters very well.

Any additional comments?

This is a must read. I am glad it was recommended to me by a friend.