The White Tiger

Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story ofcoruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told bythe most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that thismillennium has yet seen. Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant.Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, bythe scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us theterrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life --having nothing but his own wits to help him along. Born in the darkheart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for hisvillage's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), andthe rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their HondaCity car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip throughthe pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls,drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop ofIndian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers fortax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and playtheir own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, dealwith corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Labelbottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no oneelse inside it can perceive. Balram's eyes penetrate India as fewoutsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes andthe worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and,trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, thewhite tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balramteaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solveevery problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, andyou can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the rightconversations. Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The WhiteTiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, andnarrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral,irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is aninternational publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.