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A review by qtpieash3
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
3.0
3.5 stars. I knew this book had something to do with an Indian guy getting in trouble after being on an Indian quiz show similar to "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" but that was about it. I was pleasantly surprised.
We meet Ram Mohammad Thomas after he's won $1B rupees on a gameshow. The producers weren't expecting a young waiter to answer all the questions correctly and weren't prepared to pay out $1B rupees, so they charge him with cheating. He's saved during a brutal interview by a young lawyer who comes to his aid. He reviews the raw footage of his contest with her and shares tales from his past that explains how he was able to answer each question correctly.
His past is full of fantastical if haunting stories of murder, prostitution, abuse, stealing, greed, and even love. The story jumped around in time - some questions dealt with earlier or later periods in Ram's life and it took me a few pages of each chapter, which dealt with a new question and piece of Ram's life, to orient myself. The writing style was straight forward and simple, which fit well with Ram as narrator.
Overall, a lot better than I was expecting. Ram's life is hard and he makes some interesting choices that fall into that gray area between right and wrong. I'm curious to see the movie, though I hear it's a lot different than the movie - more focused on the love story that plays only a brief part in the novel. I'm not sure how much I'll like that aspect being the main focus, but I liked the book enough to give it a try.
We meet Ram Mohammad Thomas after he's won $1B rupees on a gameshow. The producers weren't expecting a young waiter to answer all the questions correctly and weren't prepared to pay out $1B rupees, so they charge him with cheating. He's saved during a brutal interview by a young lawyer who comes to his aid. He reviews the raw footage of his contest with her and shares tales from his past that explains how he was able to answer each question correctly.
His past is full of fantastical if haunting stories of murder, prostitution, abuse, stealing, greed, and even love. The story jumped around in time - some questions dealt with earlier or later periods in Ram's life and it took me a few pages of each chapter, which dealt with a new question and piece of Ram's life, to orient myself. The writing style was straight forward and simple, which fit well with Ram as narrator.
Overall, a lot better than I was expecting. Ram's life is hard and he makes some interesting choices that fall into that gray area between right and wrong. I'm curious to see the movie, though I hear it's a lot different than the movie - more focused on the love story that plays only a brief part in the novel. I'm not sure how much I'll like that aspect being the main focus, but I liked the book enough to give it a try.