The White Tiger is written as a long letter by Balram, an Indian servant from a small village called Laxmangarh, to Wen Jiabao, the Premier of the State Council of China. Balram tells the story of how he outgrew his hometown and went on to become a driver for a rich and politically-corrupt family. We learn quite early on that Balram is a wanted ‘murderer’ and we follow his story to find out how he eventually escapes the ‘Rooster Coop’ and ends up sat in an office underneath a chandelier, whilst his ex-employer is dead.
‘Never before in human history have so few owed so much to so many, Mr Jiabao. A handful of men in this country have trained the remaining 99.9 per cent – as strong, as talented, as intelligent in every way – to exist in perpetual servitude; a servitude so strong that you can put the key of his emancipation in a man’s hand and he will throw it back at you with a curse.’
This book is simply written, provocative and unusual. It takes a while to get behind Balram and have any empathy with the character, who makes sharp and unique observations about the world and the people that run it. It is clear why Adiga’s book won the Man Booker Prize (2008), and although I wasn’t 100% convinced to begin with, it is certainly a worthwhile read.
Manchester to the world 