Some books, you read for fun.
Others, you read because you have to.
And then there are some that change you as a person.
This is one of those books.
I don’t usually write book reviews. Mainly because they turn out to be long and take a lot of thinking. It’s serious effort. But something about this book, which I read almost 4 years ago, made me do it. I felt in debt to the author of this book for writing it, and I felt like I have to do my part to repay him by letting people know about this book. Also thank you to my cousin for letting me borrow this book in the summer of 2016. It was the one of the best things I’ve ever read.
The white tiger is a book written by someone called Aravind Adiga. He is an Indian writer. This is his first novel.
The book tells a story; a story like no other.
It’s a story about struggle, poverty and morality. It’s a story that puts a mirror in front of you makes you reflect on yourself. It’s a story that puts a bitter pill of truth in your mouth and forces you to swallow it. It’s a story that reflects the lives of millions of people, with no filter or sugarcoating, and depicts a true portrayal of our society. It’s a story that speaks the facts, yet it’s fictional. It’s a story that makes you feel, uncomfortable.
It’s a story about a man’s life, his hopes and aspirations, his despicable circumstances, his rise to a better life, and what he had to do get there. It’s the story of a man, born in one of those dirt poor villages of Bihar; where kids run naked among buffaloes, where the walls are full of urine stains and paan spits, where you go to the fields to shit in the morning and a place where women exist for two things; to cook and to fuck. A place where the notion of a great life is to have a wife and enough food to survive for your family. It’s a place where kids don’t go to school. A place where exploitation and bribery are the norm. It’s a place where if your father had buffalo, then you have a buffalo and your son will have a buffalo, and the buffalo will be barely enough for your family to survive for generations to come, because there is nothing else to do. A place so hopeless that there is no sight of an opportunity as far as the eye can see. A place so full of darkness that people don’t dream, because the audacity to dream is engulfed by the bitter realities of your surrounding. It’s a place where people are happy just to be alive. A place where people are not sure if they will get their next meal or not. A place where people live like cockroaches, eating the leftovers and too scared to look at the bright ray of HOPE for a better life. A place, where people don’t even realize that, somewhere out there, there is something better than the shit that they were born into.
It’s a story of a man, who, against all odds possible, choose to DREAM of a better life.
A man who did whatever it took to get to his dream. A man who always looked at himself as a man despite living like a dog. A man who chose to go out there and get himself the life he truly believed he deserved, because the good life is not handed to you by the mercy of gods but is snatched from the hands of those who have it. A man who was truly selfish, shamelessly immoral and downright filthy. But a dreamer nonetheless. A man who did the unspeakable to get what he wanted.
It’s a story about million others, who are born in a similar place of poverty and hopelessness.
It’s a story worth reading.
After reading the book, it made me question my life. My circumstances. My middle class family and the opportunities that I have in my life, which to so many people is a thing of their dreams. It made me realize how fortunate I am to have a family that looks after me and the school I go to everyday. It made me acknowledge my blessings in life, and made me realize that there are so many people out there who have way less than what I have. It taught me about the lives of millions of people who live in despicable conditions, whose only fault was to be born poor. It made me question my moral compass. What’s right and what’s wrong? And if the lines get blurred if your circumstances force you to do things you would have never wanted to do. It taught me why poverty forces good people to do bad things. And lastly, it taught me the value of a dream, and why so many people don’t dream.
A dream of something better than what they were born with.
It’s a story of a man, who despite being born into nothing but poverty and despair, had the audacity to hope.
= )
Note: While writing this, about the time it was almost completed, something happened with my computer and half of my writing suddenly disappeared. So I had to rewrite it again. So yeah, life sucks at times.
Honestblogs 