by Lizzie
In a Nutshell: Over the course of seven nights, Balram Halwai alias Munna – son of a rickshaw puller hailing from the Darkness of India – boasts the corrupt and violent secrets behind his entrepeneurial success. In so doing he blows up the bullshit broadcast by India Radio, exposing what really makes the country tick: bribes, blackmail, and the Rooster Coop Syndrome afflicting the servile masses.

Reason I Liked It: The White Tiger is the literary equivalent of an M.I.A. album: fierce, edgy, colourful, political, street savvy.

Three Words to Describe it: Provocative, thrilling ride

Indicative Quote: You should hear some of these Bangalore entrepreneurs – my start-up has got this contract with American Express, my start-up runs the software in this hospital in London, blah blah. I hate that whole fucking Bangalore attitude, I tell you. (But if you absolutely must find out more about me, just long on to my Web site: www.whitetiger-technologydrivers.com. That’s right! That’s the URL of my start-up!)

You’ll Like This If You Like: Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting, City of God, dancing in a frenzied mob to Bhangra beat remixes

Book Club Ideas: Buy some betel nut paan from a store on Gerrard and start spitting and shooting the shit with some friends in a parking lot – bring along bootleg whiskey for good measure. Laughing about how your bosses fart when they’re drunk is encouraged. Then go home and wait around the telephone till you receive a call from a Bangalore call-centre. Pester the caller with questions about what life is like in the city.

Verdict: Highly recommended. With the captivating voice of Balram Halwai, Aravind Adiga has captured the fiery survivalist spirit that fuels success in the third world like few I’ve seen before. If a time capsule was made to preserve the pulse of the beginning of the twenty-first century, it’d be well advised to place The White Tiger in it.

Good Present For: Your boyfriend or brother. With raw talk about Ukranian prostitutes, groin scratching, murder and whiskey, this is the kind of book that guys love.