The White Tiger

《白虎》是一部批判當代印度種姓階級粗暴無禮社會制度的故事。鄉下小男孩Balram到德里發展，當了有錢人的司機，受不了被低下對待，他殺了這個有錢老闆。Balram知道中國總理溫家寶要來拜訪印度，於是他開始寫信給中國總理，講述他一生的故事，這整個社會的不幸，都要怪罪印度那些少數掌權菁英的腐敗，而他本人也從一個開車的小弟，變成一個哲學家實業家，成了一個所謂成功的人。

這個故事充滿機智、批判、黑色幽默，怒氣沖沖呈現印度的二種面貌，從鄉下人力車伕最底層的世界到實業家霸佔的繁華腐敗，布克獎評審說：「一個很無關道德、尖銳不敬，卻讓人喜歡而難忘的作品。」

Introducing a major literary talent, The White Tiger offers a story of coruscating wit, blistering suspense, and questionable morality, told by the most volatile, captivating, and utterly inimitable narrator that this millennium has yet seen.

Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible 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 dark heart of India, Balram gets a break when he is hired as a driver for his village's wealthiest man, two house Pomeranians (Puddles and Cuddles), and the rich man's (very unlucky) son. From behind the wheel of their Honda City car, Balram's new world is a revelation. While his peers flip through the pages of Murder Weekly ("Love -- Rape -- Revenge!"), barter for girls, drink liquor (Thunderbolt), and perpetuate the Great Rooster Coop of Indian society, Balram watches his employers bribe foreign ministers for tax breaks, barter for girls, drink liquor (single-malt whiskey), and play their own role in the Rooster Coop. Balram learns how to siphon gas, deal with corrupt mechanics, and refill and resell Johnnie Walker Black Label bottles (all but one). He also finds a way out of the Coop that no one else inside it can perceive.

Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger. And with a charisma as undeniable as it is unexpected, Balram teaches us that religion doesn't create virtue, and money doesn't solve every problem -- but decency can still be found in a corrupt world, and you can get what you want out of life if you eavesdrop on the right conversations.

Sold in sixteen countries around the world, The White Tiger recalls The Death of Vishnu and Bangkok 8 in ambition, scope, and narrative genius, with a mischief and personality all its own. Amoral, irreverent, deeply endearing, and utterly contemporary, this novel is an international publishing sensation -- and a startling, provocative debut.

Aravind Adiga1974年出生印度Madras，在澳洲長大。他在哥倫比亞大學與牛津大學受教育。他曾經做過時代雜誌的印度特派員，文章散見Financial Times、The Independent與Sunday Times。目前住在孟買。