The White Tiger

by Aravind Adiga | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 9781843547204 Global Overview for this book
Registered by livrecache of Hobart, Tasmania Australia on 1/14/2009
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8 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by livrecache from Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Winner of the Mann Booker Prize 2008, which is being belatedly sent off as a bookring because, although I've had it for ages, the last half of last year was a really bad one for our family. I won't try to explain, it was just awful. I have registered it now though.

Anyway, now it's a new year and I'm sending this off (unread).

Participants are:

jubby
goodthinkingmax
miss-jo
fleebo
tqd
Sujie
FreePages
star-light

With livrecache


Journal Entry 2 by livrecache at Port Melbourne, Victoria Australia on Sunday, January 18, 2009

Released 15 yrs ago (1/18/2009 UTC) at Port Melbourne, Victoria Australia

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Belated start of bookring . . .

Journal Entry 3 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Thanks livrecache, it arrived (so quickly!) today. Mr Bear wanted to know why all the parcels are always for me. I told him: books. Hopefully that'll keep his interest in literature up!

I do have other Booker books on Mt TBR, but as I said, I'm going to do some creative accounting and pass this one on before them (shhhh!) as I'm sure everyone's keen to read the winner. I certainly am!

UPDATE 22 January 2008: temporarily on loan to nlr, who has promised to read very fast while I finish my current reads...

UPDATE 11 February 2008: And back with me, and I've started it already. nlr enjoyed it, but I doubt she'll have time to make any comments, unfortunately.

Journal Entry 4 by tqd from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, February 19, 2009
Dagnabbit, I really must make time to make my journal entries after I've finished reading books, not a week later! I can barely remember what I wanted to say!

It is an easy read, with the plot and language bouncing along merrily. But then, when you put it down, you discover all sorts of hidden levels that you didn't really notice while you were reading. The slightly ambiguous ending doesn't help either, because I wasn't left thinking that the White Tiger was in a significantly better place or that his tale is one that would help other people. I thought at the time that it was an amoral parable, but I've since forgotten why I thought it was a parable. But, yes, if you were going to take his tale as a parable, it's definitely not a moral one.

At the beginning I thought we might have been going in a different direction, as I kept on picking up inconsistencies in his tale - he doesn't speak English, but his tale needs to be told in English; he is careful of his identity, but then he's dictating the whole story to someone. An unreliable narrator? Or just someone who loves hyperbole?

But, to sum up (finally!), a highly recommended read, one that gives you lots to talk about. Great stuff.

Fleebo would like to read this, but is slightly buried under Booker books, so we agreed to pass it on to goodthinkingmax next meetup (bookdrinks!) as she's between Booker books. Sorry for re-arranging your order, livrecache! And thanks very much for starting this ring, it was a great read!

Journal Entry 5 by tqd at Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Monday, March 9, 2009

Released 15 yrs ago (3/10/2009 UTC) at Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia

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Taking this one to meetup (bookdrinks!) tonight, to the next participant. (I'm quite muddled as to just who that is, but I know it'll find a willing reader who is on the list...)

Happy reading!

Journal Entry 6 by jubby from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Well, it was between Fleebo and I this evening at the Sydney Bookcrossing book drinks, as to who would take this home. Fleebo had two other bookrings - so do I - but I won!

Yay.

But, I really do have two other bookrings ahead of this, before I can sink my teeth into this.

Journal Entry 7 by jubby at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Saturday, April 11, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (4/11/2009 UTC) at Bookring, A Bookring -- Controlled Releases

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Oh my goodness! It's been raining bookrings, and I can't keep up.

So, I will borrow this title from the local library one day and read it - probably when I retire at the rate I'm going. And, I've passed this one onto Goodthinkingmax.

Good luck with all those Booker shortie bookrings Goodthinkingmax.

Journal Entry 8 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thanks Jubby for the book and the excuse to visit the pub. Three Booker bookrings received yesterday, three more due this week. I'm a little excited as I'm on holidays and ready to read.

Journal Entry 9 by goodthinkingmax from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I flew through this book today, determined to pass it to miss-jo this evening. An easy and interesting read. I know there has been some controversy about Aravind Adiga's observations about India's poor, given he is essentially an outsider but I thought it was excellent for a first novel and tried to remember it was fiction. Balram's voice is entertaining and often witty and he remains a sympathetic character despite some rather blurred moral lines. Adiga's detail evokes Balram's India so clearly and I was immersed in the settings as Adiga was. The physical descriptions of the characters also allowed me to really picture them as I read. Somehow all the characters, even the "baddies" had my sympathy as they all battled to survive the complications of a corrupt and confusing system. It was impossible to apply any of my own judgments of justice and my viewpoints changed with Balram's dilemma's and his set of uncertain morals.

Journal Entry 10 by miss-jo from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Caught at bookdrinks tonight. I'll start it as soon as I finish the fluff I'm reading.

Journal Entry 11 by miss-jo from Sydney CBD, New South Wales Australia on Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I feel like a bad person for saying this, but I'll do it anyway: Yawn. Seriously, I know that the gulf between rich and poor in India is huge, I know that some people feel that morals are optional when survival is at stake, I know that I'm privileged to become whatever I can without regard to what my parents did - but how boring was this book? I couldn't care less about the characters, except for the White Tiger himself who was mildly repellant, and I didn't think the 'letter to the president' format added anything but distraction.

Thank you for sharing livrecache, and I hope life has improved for you and the family.

Fleebo's asked to be skipped for now (though she wants to read it) so I'll see how Sujie's going.

Journal Entry 12 by Sujie from Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Australia on Thursday, April 30, 2009
Arrived today, thanks. Been looking forward to this, hope I like it more than miss-jo!

Journal Entry 13 by Sujie from Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales Australia on Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Sorry for having this book so long. Found it hard to get going and the story didn't involve me much until the incident with Pinky Madam driving. I'd go along with amoral parable, if there's such a thing. Very clever, very witty, very un-edited. Could have been a lot punchier at half the length....I was near screaming point with the number of times he described spitting paan. The dirt, the disease, the corruption and superstition were hammered home. Nevertheless I found much that was moving and exquisitely put.
I disagree with Adiga's being criticised for commenting on the state of India because he was essentially an outsider - who was it who said/wrote that ex-patriates often have a clearer eye?
My take in one quote - 'The dreams of the rich and the dreams of the poor - they never overlap, do they?
See, the poor dream all their lives of getting enough to eat and looking like the rich. And what do the rich dream of?
Losing weight and looking like the poor.'
PMing freepages.
Thanks for making this availble livrecache - hope this year is an improvement on last.

Journal Entry 14 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The "White Tiger" has been caught in Canberra!

Hope I'll enjoy it's tale (slight pun intended).

Thanks sujie for sending it and for the lovely waterfalls postcard.

Hope I dont jink it but the rate that bookrings are turning up is very civilised :-)
I'm about halfway through "Sea of Poppies" and I'll start this one after that.

Journal Entry 15 by FreePages from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Monday, June 8, 2009
I found this an easy and interesting read. It kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning one night on the weekend. The letter-writing narrative device I found to be a similar style to The Reluctant Fundementalist but I enjoyed this one quite a bit more.
I think in the media, one of the critisms was that the writing was too good. I didn't find myself thinking that at all. It just seemed to help the plot flow as far as I could see.
The setting certainly is a dog-eat-dog world and certainly gives you a lot to think about.

I should have this in the post to star-light soon.


Journal Entry 16 by FreePages at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia on Monday, June 15, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (6/15/2009 UTC) at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory Australia

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Placed in the post to star-light today.

Enjoy :-)

Journal Entry 17 by star-light from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Caught! I'm looking forward to reading the winner.

Journal Entry 18 by star-light from Melbourne CBD, Victoria Australia on Sunday, August 23, 2009
This is on its way back to livrecache.

Comments added 31 August 2009
I wanted to like this book, being the winner and all, but overall I found it quite boring. Nothing much happened except for the part with Pinky Madam driving and the demise of Balram's master. All the characters except Balram were completely two-dimensional, and when I don't engage with the characters I find it hard to like the book.

There were some witty lines and clever comparisons of the rise of India with the rise of China, but other than that I couldn't wait to be done with the book.

Thanks livrecache for the opportunity to read this.

It's almost time for the 2009 Booker. Maybe this year I'll actually like the winning book (one can hope).

Journal Entry 19 by livrecache from Hobart, Tasmania Australia on Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Arrived home safely. Thank you to all who took part in this ring.

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