What a gruesome thought right? But, the ladies of the Book Clubbers (BC*) had an extremely impassioned discussion yesterday at the monthly meeting on whether "Balram" Munna, protagonist of White Tiger ought to be castrated for building a life on a single act of inhumanity.
Seems like a given does'nt it? Murderer once = murderer always and henceforth, shall forever be proclaimed as "scum of the earth" as one fiesty BC declared.
While not novel, the character potrayal by Adiga and the sarcastic voice of Balram made everyone push their boundaries on age-old questions of, does the end justify the means? With a better motive, would Balram have been more likeable? Was Adiga extremely unilateral in his portrayal of the backwaters of India and as a reader do we owe the writer an open mind that doesnt shy away from harsh realities?
Ripe for discussion...you bet! Whether you empathize or get disgusted by Balram's open greed and shocking ability to be completely selfish, it's definitely worth a read.
*Not a democratically agreed upon truncation of the official name...but heck, as the editor, I got some mad "pull" as they'd say in India. Hells bells yeah!
I must add I did love the portrayal of the class equations in the book. Kept reminding me of all the maids/drivers that worked for my family..
ReplyDeleteBut is it possible to treat them like, say, you'd treat a neighbor? If we did, would we be taken advantage of?
Loved loved Loved this one! One of the best books I've read in recent times. Adiga's portrayal of Balram as a raw, unpolished villager adapting to the 'city' life was dead on. Engrossing and hard to put down once you start, to say the least!
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