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A review by abbywebb
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
4.0
I heard about Slumdog over the Christmas holidays when I kept running into friends who had seen the movie. I had no idea really what the movie was about, even after watching the trailer online. The one thing that I did know about the movie: it was pretty stinking good.
A couple weeks later, I was at Costco when I saw a book for Slumdog Millionaire (previously titled Q & A). On a whim, I ended up snatching the book and taking it home with me.
I just finished reading it today and I have to say that it was highly entertaining. It captured the beauty and the ugly of India (both in fiction and in reality). The book was about a boy who had been poor his whole life and grew up as an orphan. One day, he is a contestant on a game show similar to Who Wants To Win A Million Dollars. He actually wins the top prize but then is suspected of cheating. Each chapter thereafter is titled for the domination of the corresponding question on the game show. The character tells a personal story in each chapter (you forget entirely about the game show), followed by review of a question from the show. Basically, he tells his story while justifying why or how he knew the correct answer for each question.
To say the least, it was a very interesting fashion to organize the book and it kept me captivated throughout the entirety of the novel. All of my friends and relatives are begging me to lend the book to them (even one who generally doesn't read that much to begin with). I am eager to see the movie now and I am hoping that I don't have to wait until it comes out on dvd...
By the way, Slumdog received several nominations for the movie version of the story and won: one Screen Actor's Guild Award (best cast) and four Golden Globes (Best Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score). Further, the movie is nominated for 11 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and 10 Academy Awards. How awesome is that?!
A couple weeks later, I was at Costco when I saw a book for Slumdog Millionaire (previously titled Q & A). On a whim, I ended up snatching the book and taking it home with me.
I just finished reading it today and I have to say that it was highly entertaining. It captured the beauty and the ugly of India (both in fiction and in reality). The book was about a boy who had been poor his whole life and grew up as an orphan. One day, he is a contestant on a game show similar to Who Wants To Win A Million Dollars. He actually wins the top prize but then is suspected of cheating. Each chapter thereafter is titled for the domination of the corresponding question on the game show. The character tells a personal story in each chapter (you forget entirely about the game show), followed by review of a question from the show. Basically, he tells his story while justifying why or how he knew the correct answer for each question.
To say the least, it was a very interesting fashion to organize the book and it kept me captivated throughout the entirety of the novel. All of my friends and relatives are begging me to lend the book to them (even one who generally doesn't read that much to begin with). I am eager to see the movie now and I am hoping that I don't have to wait until it comes out on dvd...
By the way, Slumdog received several nominations for the movie version of the story and won: one Screen Actor's Guild Award (best cast) and four Golden Globes (Best Drama, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score). Further, the movie is nominated for 11 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) and 10 Academy Awards. How awesome is that?!