Slumdog Millionaire
Author(s): Vikas Swarup
Ram Mohammad Thomas has been arrested—for answering twelve questions correctly on TV’s Who Will Win a Billion? Ram has never gone to school and never read a newspaper. There is no way a poor orphan from Jimmy’s Bar could know the names of the planets or the plays of Shakespeare ... unless he cheated. Rescued from his police cell by a lawyer, Ram reviews television footage of his flawless performance and takes us on an amazing tour of his life growing up in Asia’s biggest slum—from the day he is salvaged from a garbage can, to his job with a faded Bollywood star, to working as an over-creative tour guide at the Taj Mahal, to falling in love with Nita, a young prostitute. A brilliantly conceived fable with a modern sensibility, Slumdog Millionaire is a comic and charming novel that paints an enthralling portrait of humanity.
Originally published as Q&A.
Review(s):
“Fun, intelligent and leaves you wanting more.”
“A dream of a book.”
“This brilliant story, as colossal, vibrant and chaotic as India itself . . . it is not to be missed.”
“A rare, seemingly effortless brew of humour, drama, romance and social realism. . . . Swarup has achieved a triumph with this thrilling, endearing work which gets into the heart and soul of modern India.”
“Swarup is an accomplished storyteller, and [Slumdog Millionaire] has all the immediacy and impact of an oral account.”
“Mingling broad humour with incisive social comment . . . absorbing and richly entertaining reading.”
“This lively picaresque novel has an original and telling premise . . . a colourful portrait of Indian society is painted with remarkable lightness and wit.”
“A hugely successful mixture of satire and intrigue.”
“Sweet, sorrowful and funny. An enchanting tale.”
“This page-turning novel reels from farce to melodrama to fairy tale.”
ISBN: 9781554685134