Arvind Adiga is still a revered name in the literary world for his 2008 creation ‘The White Tiger’. The book earned him a Man Booker Prize that year, too. I know I am a bit late to read it. Maybe the Netflix adaptation encouraged me to read the book before watching its screen adaptation.

But to be true, I am not highly motivated to watch the movie after finishing the literary creation. It is one of those books walking away with more accolades than it actually deserved. Maybe the western world liked it because it has portrayed our country in the worst way possible. Everything about India has been shown in the darkest possible manner. Be it politics, be it education, be the moral values, be the people- everything and everyone is dark. Sadly, this is not the India we know about. There are too many faults in the system, agreed. But the portrayal was way too much with a hidden ambition to lure the west.

There are certain loopholes in the plot as well. The transformation of the driver to a successful entrepreneur is not at all credible. The political backdrop is not convincing. There are unnecessary sexual references. In the beginning, the letters have frequent references to Wen Jiabao and China while from the middle, it becomes a tad monologue. Suddenly towards the end, the author realizes his mistake and brings back the references.

The character of Pinky madam is forced and does not have much impact on the story. The character of Uma stands on flimsy grounds. The murder lacks a true motive. The role of the Great Socialist is also not very much clear. Overall, the only intention of the author to pen the book appears to be to portray India in the shabbiest manner possible. The pace of the story is decent though. The writing style is praiseworthy. Overall, an average book, unnecessarily overhyped just like the way Slumdog Millionaire bagged 8 Academy Awards for the same reason- portraying India in the darkest way possible.

My rating- 3 out of 5