Thursday, August 07, 2008

The White Tiger - Aravind Adiga

As previously threatened I am abandoning the traditional review - these are the notes I made as I read, they create a vague impression of how I responded to the novel.

  • Pleasing matt finish sleeve and bright white pages.
  • Reads almost like a monologue, anecdotal, confessional. Adiga, and through him, Balram are great storytellers. They keep the narrative lively and flowing.
  • I like the way the chapters are the consecutive nights on which Balram sends his email - this creates a strong sense of time passing.
  • Animals important throughout. Is this a theme for this years Booker nominees as I notice they appear in some of the other books? is there any animal lover on the judging panel?
  • Do my first Booker reads always have a penis fixation? Last year it was the Irish length courtesy of Anne Enright this year Balram’s ever mentioned beak!
  • Reminders of The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Animal’s People and Shantaram.
  • Collected quotes -
    ‘things that drop into your mind, like lizards from the ceiling, in the half-hour before falling asleep’
    ‘stamping on the goat turds which had spread like a constellation of black stars on the ground.’
  • This is scratch and sniff India. That familiar chewing of paan and spitting of red juices but making a new kind of mess this time. Not the best Indian novel I’ve read (which would probably be something by Raj Kamal Jha) but far from the worst. Six out of ten silver whistles!

1 comment:

jo :: feather and thread said...

oh kingfisher, how i love this time of year when i can catch up with your literary findings! Loving the new approach a lot. Ten out of ten slippery fish to you!!...x