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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
One of my favorite movies, Slumdog Millionaire, is based on this book, so I thought I’d love it. Turns out it is one of the rare cases where the movie is better. I struggled with it jumping around in the timeline so much and the writing was not my favorite. 3.5 stars.
One of those rare cases when the movie far exceeds the book even though it's wildly different. I found the writing completely flat and I couldn't summon up much interest or the main character. I really wanted to like it but it left me cold.
2012: Very entertaining picaresque adventure novel with a similar concept as the excellent movie "Slumdog Millionaire," but very few other similarities.
Is it a general characteristic of Indian fiction to be episodic -- in this case, a unified collection of short stories -- or is that just the Indian novels I happen to be encountering?
2018: So, I'm sure that I realized in 2012 that Slumdog Millionaire was an adaptation of Q&A. I guess my point was that it was a very free adaptation, keeping the overall framework but substituting in a completely different set of stories. That's a big deal, because Q&A is kind of a modern Canterbury Tales, with an overall story that's really just an excuse to tell a bunch of short tales.
Unusually, although the book is fairly entertaining and came first, it is hard to imagine very many people saying "the book was better than the movie." It isn't really in the same class.
Is it a general characteristic of Indian fiction to be episodic -- in this case, a unified collection of short stories -- or is that just the Indian novels I happen to be encountering?
2018: So, I'm sure that I realized in 2012 that Slumdog Millionaire was an adaptation of Q&A. I guess my point was that it was a very free adaptation, keeping the overall framework but substituting in a completely different set of stories. That's a big deal, because Q&A is kind of a modern Canterbury Tales, with an overall story that's really just an excuse to tell a bunch of short tales.
Unusually, although the book is fairly entertaining and came first, it is hard to imagine very many people saying "the book was better than the movie." It isn't really in the same class.
So much more depth and interesting story in this novel compared to the movie. Truly a good read.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I really thought this book was a masterpiece until I realized it was nothing but miseries and hardships of people living in slums all clamped up together. It also attacks religions and pulls the triggers on matters that only happen one in a thousand. Overall the concept is good story is entertaining straight out of a dramatic bollywood movie but that’s not exactly how I’d want things to be represented. I’d probably read it a few more times just for laughs and some entertainment as I really enjoyed it. 9/10 recommended if you’re cool and don’t get offended at little things.
Review on my blog:
http://kentuckiana-rrr.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-q-or-indian-novel-lite.html
http://kentuckiana-rrr.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-review-q-or-indian-novel-lite.html
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a tricky one as I liked how the book was setup by question but it was difficult to follow as the timeline was all over and hard to follow.
It was interesting to see the daily struggle and hardships that face so many in India but for all that to happen to 1 boy wasn't very believable.
It was interesting to see the daily struggle and hardships that face so many in India but for all that to happen to 1 boy wasn't very believable.