Review: Dave's shot at The White Tiger
I'll get right to it: Though I saw flaws in Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger, which won the 2008 Man Booker Prize, I liked it much more than Nancy did. The commentary on India's caste system rang true for me, and echoed the racial struggle in books such as Invisible Man and Native Son. (Adiga notes his indebtedness to Ralph Ellison, Richard Wright and James Baldwin in a Q&A that follows the story.)
My biggest complaint: the artificial device used to begin the book, a letter being written by protagonist Balram Halwai to China's premier. It doesn't do much to move the book forward, and peters out as the narrative picks up speed.
But I liked Adiga's fast, loose writing style, and his descriptive phrases. "A white man's body is like a premium cotton pillow, white and soft and blank. My father's spine was a knotted rope, the kind that women in villages use to ull water from wells... "
The book is a manifesto, an indictment of India's caste system. Adiga does not simply blame the British, who once occupied the country. He also puts responsibility on the shoulders of Indians -- rich and poor -- for maintaining the system.
In one scene, he portrays the charades that help prop up that system. When Halwai wins a job as a driver -- a way out of poverty and class distinctions -- his employer asks how much he expects in pay. Even though Halwai detests his low class, he knows enough to keep up appearances. This exchange follows:
" 'Abolutely nothing, sir. You're like a father and mother to me, and how can I ask for money from my parents?'
'Eight hundred rupess a month,' he said.
'No, sir, please -- it's too much. Give me half of that, it's enough. More than enough.'
'If we keep you beyond two months, it'll go to one thousand five hundred.'
Looking suitably devastated, I accepted the money from him."
Such brief exchanges offer the best of The White Tiger. Repeated in many variations, they begin to crystallize Halwai's hatred, which drives him to rebellion. As he says, there are "two destinies: eat -- or get eaten up."
