Hmmm, well, I happened to get this book from the library on the Saturday before the Booker Prize was announced “just in case.” When The White Tiger was revealed as the winner, I was really surprised. Not only did it have the longest odds to win, but I had recently read The Secret Scripture and not-so-secretly hoped it would win. In fact, the committee admitted these two were the main contenders and that the decision was not unanimous.
To be honest, I kind of groaned when I heard Adiga’s book was the winner. I don’t have a love affair at all with the Booker prize winners that I’ve read, so I was a little skeptical that I would enjoy this one. But, being the trooper that I am, I thought I’d give it at least 40 or so pages to see if it could capture my interest.
Surprise, surprise; it did. Not only is it a scathing indictment against India’s treatment of its poorest citizens, it also manages to be a clever black comedy. This is exactly what the prize committee chairman revealed as the reason behind its decision. So which book did I like better, The White Tiger or The Secret Scripture? It’s really comparing apples to oranges. They’re just not the same type of book at all. They both are worthy social commentaries on the authors’ home countries, but just written in a totally different style. While Sebastian Barry’s prose is lyrical, Adiga’s is biting (and comical). They both work spectacularly, just in different ways. I can definitely see why the committee had a difficult decision on its hands, and either one would have been a winner in my book.
How does it fare against the other Booker Prize winners? Well, I definitely enjoyed it more than some of the other winners I’ve read, including:
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi won the Booker Prize in 2002. It’s the story of Pi Patel from his childhood to his time on a lifeboat after the ship carrying his family and his father’s zoo animals sinks. Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger, shares Pi’s fate on the raft. Due to the tiger, he must constantly be on guard during his 227 day ordeal.
I really didn’t get all that much into the story until the ship sunk — it really gets going at that point. And then, just when I was getting tired of all the desperate tactics for survival in the lifeboat, another interesting development occurs. I was surprised by the twist ending as well, but it was a good one. I was impressed by the symbolism in the book. Recommended.
The Gathering by Anne Enright won the Booker Prize in 2007. The novel is about family relationships, grief, and memory. Veronica comes from a large family of 12 siblings (plus several stillbirths). Her closest brother Liam has just committed suicide, and as she deals with her grief about losing her brother, the event dredges up some fairly shocking childhood memories. Soon she doesn’t know how she feels about either of her families — either her childhood family or even her husband and children.
The language and scenes are shocking and graphic. The subject matter is dark and depressing. Normally, I would have predicted that I would have hated this book, and I can see why many don’t like it. But, Enright’s writing drew me in. Veronica’s voice is so brutally honest it cut through me. Definitely not for everyone, but it’s a book you think about long after you’ve finished it, and in my mind, that’s the mark of a good one.
2007, 261 pp.
Rating: 4/5
2007 Booker Prize winner
The Life & Times of Michael K won the Booker Prize in 1983. Written by Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee, it is set in South Africa during a civil war. Michael is a gardener in his earlier thirties who has a harelip. He was institutionalized by his mother when he was a child, but at the beginning of the book when she is old and very ill, she calls for him. She would like him to take her to the village where she grew up. Getting the proper paperwork for the train is practically impossible because of the war, so finally they give up on it and try to go there on their own.
Many things happen to Michael on the trip. He is captured and made to work for awhile, and then released. He finds what he thinks is the farm where his mother was raised and makes himself a home (if you can call it that) there. Struggling to survive and evade the government, in the midst of it all he still wants to be a gardener and plants a small pumpkin patch, which he guards and tends with fervor.
The book is told in three parts. Parts I and III describe the storyline from Michael’s perspective. Part II is told in first person by a doctor who tries to understand Michael when he is brought under his care. This was a thought-provoking book and I enjoyed it, though I could have done without some scenes at the end. I’ll definitely read more by Coetzee.
A quote:
I could live here forever, he thought, or till I die. Nothing would happen, every day would be the same as the day before, there would be nothing to say.
I’ve been doing a little more research on The God of Small Things because I’ll be leading the discussion of it for BookAwards starting September 1st.
In my earlier review (if you can call it that), I stated that I was confused about something in the last couple of chapters in the book. I sort of had a “Did what I think happen, happen?” moment. My suspicions were confirmed. I haven’t rated the novel yet, nor really written an adequate review of it because 1) I want to discuss several issues with my book group without giving things away, and 2) I don’t know how in the world I’m going to rate this book with this certain event taking place in the second to last chapter.
This novel is definitely one that will generate discussion. I can’t say I liked it, but, surprisingly, I can’t say I hated it, either. I have NO IDEA how to give this book a rating, but after our group discussion, I’ll attempt one with at least some stab at a better book review as well.
I finished this book two days ago, and I still don’t know how I feel about it. Loved some of it, hated some of it, and was confused by the ending (particularly the second to last chapter; did they ?). I am reading this with my Book Awards group in September, and I have many things I’d like to talk about and discuss with them first before I write any kind of formal review.
I guess I will write one later. Lay Ter. (If you’ve read this book, you know what this means!)
I was disappointed in this book. I expected great things after loving The Handmaid’s Tale earlier in the year. I was especially disappointed as it was over 500 pages; it could have easily lost about 100 pages of detail. I guess that’s my main gripe about it. It just seemed too detailed for me. Also I correctly predicted almost all that happened. Long, too detailed, and too predictable. But still, Atwood does know how to turn a phrase, and that is why it still gets a 3.5 star rating.
This was not my cup of tea. I don’t need an exciting plot to enjoy a book. I don’t mind older men looking back on their lives. In a similar vein, I loved Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead, although I hated Roth’s Everyman. This was closer to Everyman.
Max is a widower that is overly sensitive to smells who is grieving (I guess?) over his wife. He calls her the “c” word and admits he really didn’t know her because he preferred not to know her.
Not one character in the book was likable. I guess I was lucky this was short.
by Anne Enright
by Kiran Desai
by John Banville
by Margaret Atwood
Yann Martel’s Life of Pi won the Booker Prize in 2002. It’s the story of Pi Patel from his childhood to his time on a lifeboat after the ship carrying his family and his father’s zoo animals sinks. Richard Parker, a Bengal tiger, shares Pi’s fate on the raft. Due to the tiger, he must constantly be on guard during his 227 day ordeal.
The Gathering by Anne Enright won the Booker Prize in 2007. The novel is about family relationships, grief, and memory. Veronica comes from a large family of 12 siblings (plus several stillbirths). Her closest brother Liam has just committed suicide, and as she deals with her grief about losing her brother, the event dredges up some fairly shocking childhood memories. Soon she doesn’t know how she feels about either of her families — either her childhood family or even her husband and children.
The Life & Times of Michael K won the Booker Prize in 1983. Written by Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee, it is set in South Africa during a civil war. Michael is a gardener in his earlier thirties who has a harelip. He was institutionalized by his mother when he was a child, but at the beginning of the book when she is old and very ill, she calls for him. She would like him to take her to the village where she grew up. Getting the proper paperwork for the train is practically impossible because of the war, so finally they give up on it and try to go there on their own.
I’ve been doing a little more research on The God of Small Things because I’ll be leading the discussion of it for 
The God of Small Things
The Blind Assassin
