This is yet another great book from one of my favorite writers of all time: Aravind Adiga.
If you remember correctly, I had reviewed his first book on this blog: “The white tiger”, which I absolutely loved. Last man in Tower is his second book, and although it did not captivate me as much as the last one, it was still a really interesting read.
This book is about how good people can be turned into ruthless criminals.
It’s a crazy fucking book.
The book starts off slow and monotonous, but it slowly turns into a crazy psychological thriller! The author plays with the characters’ emotions to tell the story, and I absolutely love it. It honestly gets scary by the end.
So, the book is based on a lower-middle-class area on the outskirts of Mumbai (India). It follows the daily lives of good, hardworking residents of Vishram Society. These people are not poor, although they are not well off either (the definition of middle-class). The residents of Vishram Society are stuck in a limbo between poverty and wealth, all they have is hope (hope of a better life). They are truly the middle class of the Indian society, working day and night to climb the social ladder (to buy a bigger TV, to move to a better neighborhood, to finally afford a car). The story reflects the lives of the majority of people in the society, hence it is so relatable.
This is a story of truly boring people. I mean who the fuck cares about middle-class people? They don’t have anything extreme (worthwhile) going in their lives. If they were dirt poor then we could talk about their hard struggles, or if they were super rich then we could talk about their amazing lives. But the middle class? Yuck! That’s the worst demographic to write a story about.
Yet it is one of the most exciting books I have ever read. That’s the brilliance of this book, it manages to bring out the extremes in the most boring people, and it gets ugly real quick.
This is a book full of middle grounds.
Life in Vishram Society is not easy, although it’s not hard either. The apartment building is old (almost falling apart), water seldom comes, and there is a huge slum nearby (where all sorts of inferior creatures live). Residents of Vishram society are neither happy nor sad. When they see the dirt-poor people of nearby slums, they feel happy about their lives. When they see the wealthy residents of east Mumbai, they feel bad about themselves. Being middle class, your quality of life depends solely on how you look at things in life (because there is very little that you can change).
Life in Vishram Society is a calm, monotonous stream of events. Nothing exciting ever happens in the society, just like the lives of people who live there. The children go to school, the parents work, the women cook, and the old wait for death. They are good, hardworking people after all. It’s the mirror image of the typical Indian society.
Everything is “normal” in their quiet lives.
Until…..
Drum rolls, please!
That is until someone comes in with a crazy offer of fulfilling all their dreams in an instant. That is until a contractor comes in with an offer of selling their shitty apartments of Vishram Society at an unspeakable, crazy high price, which would instantly make them very rich people.
Their dreams of being rich, their dreams of moving to the good apartments of east Mumbai, their dreams of sending their children to a great school, their dreams of eating in fancy restaurants, and so on.
Everything they ever wished for, comes true in an instant……
BUT AT WHAT COST?
The cost being their moral compass (their judgment of what’s right and what’s wrong).
To secure the deal (and forever change their lives) the good, hardworking people of Vishram society would have to do unspeakable things. Things they would not have done in a million years.
But the big question is….. WILL THEY DO IT?
The book revolves around this titillating question.
Hence, the book is basically an intense psychological thriller based on Indian society. It explores the idea, how money can change people. It’s a really interesting book, and I recommend it if you are looking for something thrilling and introspective.
WOULD YOU MURDER SOMEONE FOR A MILLION DOLLARS?
Would you? ; )
Cheers!
= )
Honestblogs 