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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
A lot of Americans got their first taste of Bollywood when they fell in love with the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. But before it was a film, it was this novel, which was quickly given a new matching title and republished after the runaway success of the film.
What's interesting about the book/film relationship is that much like [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)|Ernest Cline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571._SY75_.jpg|14863741], the makers of the film decided to keep things fresh by keeping the general outline of the story, but changing nearly all of the actual questions and most of the stories that show how our hero knows the answers. So just because you've already experienced the story in one format doesn't mean you know exactly how everything is going to play out. I can promise that you don't. In fact, you could say they're totally different stories based on the same general premise, with an almost totally different cast of characters. Salim is there, and so is Prem Kumar, the host of the show, but nearly everyone else, including the main character, is different.
There is a wide variety of opinions among the reviews here about the book and the film, and they mostly fall into two camps: (a) film is better than the book, and (2) book is better than the film. I personally liked them both.
It's easy enough to see why makers of the film probably felt they had to change so many of the stories. As hard as it may be to believe, they cleaned it up for the screen. While plenty of sordid things happen to Our Hero in the film, they radically toned down the author's seeming obsession with violent sexual predators – I guess they thought a villain physically mutilating children to be street beggars was fine (this is the one story that's completely intact), but the amount of sexual exploitation of both children and adult women that goes on in the book was a bridge too far. And as many critics have mentioned, the author's conflation of homosexuality and pedophilia is problematic.
Another obvious reason some of the stories were changed for the film is that they consist of a minor character relating a story to Ram, like the button mogul who tells the story of, or the Sikh war veteran who tells the story of . That works fine in a book but it would make for a really boring movie, so they had to focus on stories that put Ram/Jamal in the middle of the action, living the story himself instead hearing it told by another.
So. If you want a story with a strong romantic arc, where the love interest is the only woman in the story other than the idealized dead mother, where there's a dramatic side story of a major character who goes bad but finally redeems himself, where everything is neatly told in chronological order, and there's a dramatic Hollywood “get the girl” scene at the end, watch the film. If you want a story where women can be everything from love interests to dreadful villains to victims of violence to rescuers, and you don't mind a story that's told out of chronological order and requires you to do some self-assembly to make sense of his life (because he tells it in the order of the questions in the game), and you can handle a lot of children and women being sexually abused, and you don't mind a few loose ends here and there because life is messy, vread the book. Or, you know, do both.
What's interesting about the book/film relationship is that much like [b:Ready Player One|9969571|Ready Player One (Ready Player One, #1)|Ernest Cline|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500930947l/9969571._SY75_.jpg|14863741], the makers of the film decided to keep things fresh by keeping the general outline of the story, but changing nearly all of the actual questions and most of the stories that show how our hero knows the answers. So just because you've already experienced the story in one format doesn't mean you know exactly how everything is going to play out. I can promise that you don't. In fact, you could say they're totally different stories based on the same general premise, with an almost totally different cast of characters. Salim is there, and so is Prem Kumar, the host of the show, but nearly everyone else, including the main character, is different.
There is a wide variety of opinions among the reviews here about the book and the film, and they mostly fall into two camps: (a) film is better than the book, and (2) book is better than the film. I personally liked them both.
It's easy enough to see why makers of the film probably felt they had to change so many of the stories. As hard as it may be to believe, they cleaned it up for the screen. While plenty of sordid things happen to Our Hero in the film, they radically toned down the author's seeming obsession with violent sexual predators – I guess they thought a villain physically mutilating children to be street beggars was fine (this is the one story that's completely intact), but the amount of sexual exploitation of both children and adult women that goes on in the book was a bridge too far. And as many critics have mentioned, the author's conflation of homosexuality and pedophilia is problematic.
Another obvious reason some of the stories were changed for the film is that they consist of a minor character relating a story to Ram, like the button mogul who tells the story of
Spoiler
how he tortured his brother to madness using voodooSpoiler
a dramatic battle in which he didn't really take part because he desertedSo. If you want a story with a strong romantic arc, where the love interest is the only woman in the story other than the idealized dead mother, where there's a dramatic side story of a major character who goes bad but finally redeems himself, where everything is neatly told in chronological order, and there's a dramatic Hollywood “get the girl” scene at the end, watch the film. If you want a story where women can be everything from love interests to dreadful villains to victims of violence to rescuers, and you don't mind a story that's told out of chronological order and requires you to do some self-assembly to make sense of his life (because he tells it in the order of the questions in the game), and you can handle a lot of children and women being sexually abused, and you don't mind a few loose ends here and there because life is messy, vread the book. Or, you know, do both.
It was a spur of the moment decision to read Vikas Swarup’s novel when I did. I tend to prefer to read the book before seeing the movie it is based on, but I hadn’t known until recently that the movie was actually based on a book. In cases like this, when I really want to see the movie in the theater, I often times will just go ahead and see the movie anyway. The book will have to wait. Fortunately, I was able to get my hands on a copy of Slumdog Millionaire, so titled after the movie no less. The original title of the book is Q&A. Perhaps not quite as sellable but still more accurate when it comes right down to it.
I loved the book. I loved the movie. Slumdog Millionaire is both a love story and a coming of age story. The book and movie are very different from one another, while at the same time sharing a similar structure and commonalities that will be easily recognizable to those who have watched and read the two formats. And yet, the two are different enough from each other to be completely different stories all together, at least content wise. For those who are nitpicky about book to movie translations, you might want to put some distance between reading the book and watching the movie. The two are worth taking in though. Both the movie and book tell stories that will pull at your heart strings, make you laugh and cry, and make you fall in love. At least, that’s how it was for me.
In Vikas Swarup’s novel, set in India, Ram Mohammed Thomas was abandoned by his mother when he was still an infant. He was left on the church doorstep, taken in by the church, adopted by a family, and then abandoned again. During his early childhood he was raised by a priest but then, due to unfortunate circumstances he was ripped away from all he knew and his life took an entirely different direction.
The book opens with Thomas being arrested and then tortured by the police, accused of cheating on the game show, Who Wants to Be a Billionaire. He won by answering twelve questions, questions an uneducated street boy couldn’t possibly have had the answers for all on his own. Or could he?
Sticklers for novels told in chronological order may struggle with this one at first. The unfolding of the story comes in a roundabout way, the chapters structured around each of the questions asked on the quiz show. With every question, Thomas tells his life story, the story of how he knew the answers that would end up winning him a billion rupees. The chapters, therefore, jump back and forth through time, not always following a chronological path. I had no trouble following the story, however, and actually found the format of the story quite effective. It was the perfect set up for what was to come.
Thomas is an amazing boy. His life has been extremely difficult. He has seen things that no child should have to see. He is street wise and yet has a good heart. He is a loyal friend. After leaving the church, Thomas is sent to an orphanage where he befriends Salim, a Muslim orphan boy whose family was brutally murdered right in front of him. Thomas takes Salim under his wing and the two are, for a time, inseparable.
Thomas meets many people while growing up. He travels across India doing his best to survive. He lives off of the streets, serves the wealthy, is taken in by those with kind hearts and treated ill by those up to no good. Even in the worst of times, Thomas seems to come out of every situation okay, although perhaps a little more weary of the world.
I came away from the novel with tears in my eyes, touched by not only Thomas’ story, but by those whose lives he touched. It truly was an inspirational story. Slumdog Millionaire (aka Q&A) is well worth reading.
I loved the book. I loved the movie. Slumdog Millionaire is both a love story and a coming of age story. The book and movie are very different from one another, while at the same time sharing a similar structure and commonalities that will be easily recognizable to those who have watched and read the two formats. And yet, the two are different enough from each other to be completely different stories all together, at least content wise. For those who are nitpicky about book to movie translations, you might want to put some distance between reading the book and watching the movie. The two are worth taking in though. Both the movie and book tell stories that will pull at your heart strings, make you laugh and cry, and make you fall in love. At least, that’s how it was for me.
In Vikas Swarup’s novel, set in India, Ram Mohammed Thomas was abandoned by his mother when he was still an infant. He was left on the church doorstep, taken in by the church, adopted by a family, and then abandoned again. During his early childhood he was raised by a priest but then, due to unfortunate circumstances he was ripped away from all he knew and his life took an entirely different direction.
The book opens with Thomas being arrested and then tortured by the police, accused of cheating on the game show, Who Wants to Be a Billionaire. He won by answering twelve questions, questions an uneducated street boy couldn’t possibly have had the answers for all on his own. Or could he?
Sticklers for novels told in chronological order may struggle with this one at first. The unfolding of the story comes in a roundabout way, the chapters structured around each of the questions asked on the quiz show. With every question, Thomas tells his life story, the story of how he knew the answers that would end up winning him a billion rupees. The chapters, therefore, jump back and forth through time, not always following a chronological path. I had no trouble following the story, however, and actually found the format of the story quite effective. It was the perfect set up for what was to come.
Thomas is an amazing boy. His life has been extremely difficult. He has seen things that no child should have to see. He is street wise and yet has a good heart. He is a loyal friend. After leaving the church, Thomas is sent to an orphanage where he befriends Salim, a Muslim orphan boy whose family was brutally murdered right in front of him. Thomas takes Salim under his wing and the two are, for a time, inseparable.
Thomas meets many people while growing up. He travels across India doing his best to survive. He lives off of the streets, serves the wealthy, is taken in by those with kind hearts and treated ill by those up to no good. Even in the worst of times, Thomas seems to come out of every situation okay, although perhaps a little more weary of the world.
I came away from the novel with tears in my eyes, touched by not only Thomas’ story, but by those whose lives he touched. It truly was an inspirational story. Slumdog Millionaire (aka Q&A) is well worth reading.
There are two things you need to know about Q&a if you are thinking of reading it.
1) If you liked the film Slumdog Millionaire, the book is almost nothing like the film except for the basic plot structure. If you didn't like the film Slumdog Millionaire, the book is almost nothing like the film except for the basic plot structure.
2) Either way, that's a good thing. Q&A is a remarkable novel. Sure, it has its faults, one of which being that I don't think you could accuse the author of being a Serious Novelist. Still, he tells his story in the way that he sees fit, and I believe it has a larger emotional impact than the film. The novel has a more complex structure, a more challenging narrative, more threads that have to be woven together, and a more striking emotional payoff.
So don't just think you'd be reading the novel version of the film. Whether you liked Slumdog or not, Q&A is worth the time.
1) If you liked the film Slumdog Millionaire, the book is almost nothing like the film except for the basic plot structure. If you didn't like the film Slumdog Millionaire, the book is almost nothing like the film except for the basic plot structure.
2) Either way, that's a good thing. Q&A is a remarkable novel. Sure, it has its faults, one of which being that I don't think you could accuse the author of being a Serious Novelist. Still, he tells his story in the way that he sees fit, and I believe it has a larger emotional impact than the film. The novel has a more complex structure, a more challenging narrative, more threads that have to be woven together, and a more striking emotional payoff.
So don't just think you'd be reading the novel version of the film. Whether you liked Slumdog or not, Q&A is worth the time.
Slumdog Millionaire is an excellent read that is packed full of drama and intrigue.
I watched the movie years ago when it came out. I wasn't totally sold on it, but promised myself I would eventually read the book. I managed to pick this book up at a charity book shop, and it's been staring at me on my TBR shelf ever since. With COVID going on, I decided to pick up a few more popular books to add to my 2020 read line up.
This book is so good! Vikas Swarup has a unique way of telling this narrative, of a man who won the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. His life ends up teaching him almost every answer, and it is heart breaking yet thrilling. Reading about the man's history and all the ways he learned the answers was so cool. The story is woven in a way you get to learn about his life question by question, which just made it way more intriguing.
Also, unlike the film, there is almost no romance in this novel. The film is super romance filled, but this one is just a man existing in his life. There's a pinch of romance, but it's definitely not as romantic as the film might have led you to believe.
What's also super interesting is that this is loosely based on a real story. The plot and characters is all fictional, based on whatever was going on in Vikas's head when he was writing. But, the fact that someone did win a show like this is real! It's super cool, and I liked that this story took it's own swing at it instead of just following the real story.
Overall, it's a great read that is super unique. It's different than my normal read, and it was super refreshing. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an attention grabbing fictional read.
Four out of five stars.
I watched the movie years ago when it came out. I wasn't totally sold on it, but promised myself I would eventually read the book. I managed to pick this book up at a charity book shop, and it's been staring at me on my TBR shelf ever since. With COVID going on, I decided to pick up a few more popular books to add to my 2020 read line up.
This book is so good! Vikas Swarup has a unique way of telling this narrative, of a man who won the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. His life ends up teaching him almost every answer, and it is heart breaking yet thrilling. Reading about the man's history and all the ways he learned the answers was so cool. The story is woven in a way you get to learn about his life question by question, which just made it way more intriguing.
Also, unlike the film, there is almost no romance in this novel. The film is super romance filled, but this one is just a man existing in his life. There's a pinch of romance, but it's definitely not as romantic as the film might have led you to believe.
What's also super interesting is that this is loosely based on a real story. The plot and characters is all fictional, based on whatever was going on in Vikas's head when he was writing. But, the fact that someone did win a show like this is real! It's super cool, and I liked that this story took it's own swing at it instead of just following the real story.
Overall, it's a great read that is super unique. It's different than my normal read, and it was super refreshing. I highly recommend it if you are looking for an attention grabbing fictional read.
Four out of five stars.
Although it was completely different from the movie, I think they're both really fantastic in their own ways. It's pretty easy to see how and why they changed some of the details for Slumdog, but I find it really cool to point of the differences.
Confusing because of the chapters not being in chronological order. But really well written, great twists too.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I read this book after seeing the movie. The book was very hard to understand and I think if I knew a little bit of history from that area of the world it would have been easier to comprehend. It used some foreign terms that I was unaware of.
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Sexual harassment, War