I have always held the notion that books that win accolades with the critics and literary prizes are almost always boring and not worth the read. But this book dispels all that. Its a simple story (something that can be summarized in 2 pages but presented nicely without complexities) was the recommendation from a friend of mine. And true to her word, the book had depth of story without the usual intricacy that tags along.
The story is that of a young man, who rises from the "darkness" of his village, a place called Laxmangarh to become rich and powerful on the dint of his hard work, predilection for eavesdropping and clear decision making of when to do the right (or wrong) thing to move ahead in life. The story captures the image of a deep rooted lack of ambition in the lower castes in India, and how they voluntarily give up a life of freedom to embrace slavery of the rich and powerful, who are elevated to the status of Gods and who become a law unto themselves by this meek surrender of the villagers. It also captures the images of corruption that plagues the top echelons of the potilical and social hierarchy in India and paints a gloomy picture of the society as such. Gloomy, yet very accurate. And it captures the two visions of India, the poor yet moral and the rich yet amoral. And it does so with the simplicity of narration that is hardly the flavor with critics. That it won the "Man Booker" is a testament to the wonder that Adiga has created. A sure-shot read.
1 comment:
Bought the book a week back..thanx for the encouragement for me to actually getting down to reading it now!
Post a Comment