White Tiger

The Book
White Tiger, by Aravind Avida

Synopsis
In the form of a letter dictated for a visiting Chinese premier, a self described Indian entrepreneur bares his soul, sharing the story of his life and rise to success as a story of modern India. As his tale unfolds, it becomes clear that the protagonist is witty, ambitious and sly. He has mastered the art of presenting a perfectly subservient face to mask an internal outrage.

What I thought
Presented as an entertaining story of Balram Halwai, a poor kid from “the Darkness” of India, who succeeds in a new, leveling age of business, this is certainly a social protest.

There are reams of reviews praising this book, that’s how I first learned about it on NPR.com. One reviewer’s comment, displayed on the front cover, compares the book to Richard Wright’s Native Son, which I happened to read recently. For a while, I was puzzled by the comparison.

Following the inevitable outcome of a character like Wright’s Bigger Thomas in recent, white society was like receiving a beating, brutally rough the whole way through. White Tiger, however, is told in a voice that’s light, eccentric, and almost unbelievable. The tone of protest seemed more similar to that of the sardonic Catch 22.

In the end though, I began to see the reviewer’s point, though Balram’s conclusion is outwardly less violent than Bigger’s. This story describes a clash of a rare kind of man with uncalled for ambition and the society that wants him to be grateful for the little he has. It’s a critical social commentary from the underbelly looking up.

White Tiger twisted my American sense of pride in the underdog’s achievement. The story is terrifically entertaining. But I finished unsettled, feeling the usual standards of judgment failed me in the case of Balram Halwai.

Times Online Review