The White Tiger

Balram Halwai is the White Tiger: servant, philosopher, entrepreneur, murderer. Born in a village in the dark heart of India, the son of a rickshaw puller, Halwai is taken out of school by his family and put to work in a teashop. As he crushes coal and wipes tables, he nurses a dream of escape. His big chance comes when a rich village landlord hires him as a chauffeur for his son. Arriving in Delhi with his new master, Halwai’s re-education begins as he learns of a new morality at the heart of a new India. As the other servants flick through the pages of Murder Weekly, Halwai begins to see how the Tiger might escape his cage. Surely any successful man must spill a little blood on his way to the top? The Booker Prize-winning The White Tiger is a tale of two Indias. Halwai’s journey from village life to entrepreneurial success is utterly amoral, brilliantly irreverent, deeply endearing and altogether unforgettable.