This story was a mixed bag for me. I wasn’t a big fan of it, though I read it front to back over one weekend on a car trip to visit relatives.
Our protagonist is definitely of a gray morality, though, so are all the positive characters in this book. In fact a lot of the views of the world from the protagonist felt very gray—neither good nor bad. I suppose that is the definition of realist. I lean more optimistic, though appreciate realism more and more these days.
Weed or Keep:
There was nothing really in this book that called for weeding. It paints a picture of India in 2008. A picture. It presents a slightly biased POV on many subjects, including religion in general, different nations, and family responsibilities (the biases are that the narrator is mostly negative about these things, though it is understandable why he may be more bitter than not).
Highlights:
Themes includes are Cars (which may mean more to most people than me. I have no idea what the difference between a Honda City and a Maruti Suzuki is), Indian Caste System, Politics, Rich vs Poor, Religion, Family, and Freedom.
The ending left me a little wanting. My book has discussion questions, and one of them is “Why do you think the narrator is writing to the premier?” and literally I do not know. That was the thing that started bugging me near the end. Once I figured out how the novel was being framed, I half-expected the email writing portion to get interrupted somewhere near the end. Then I realized that probably wasn’t going to happen, and started to wonder why he was even writing all this to a Chinese Official that probably isn’t showing up in India anyway(?). I still don’t know! Maybe he just… wanted to confess? Or brag? He claims he wanted to teach, but also wanted to brag about Bangalore which maybe 5% of the novel talked about. Idk.
On Writing:
This novel is written in sequential letter format, 1st person, present and past tense. Balram, the narrator, is writing a letter to a Chinese Official who was rumored to be visiting the city of Balram’s current residence.
Balram basically tells his life story, and kind of frustratingly (if I were the Premier reading the letters, I’d be frustrated, though for the novel’s purpose it is useful) starts each letter with a long story about what he was currently doing (staring at the chandelier, trying to remember what I said in my last letter to you. I’m stalling, keeping you entertained while I think) or what happened just before he got back to writing.
How are these rambling moments useful? They do help paint a picture of where we are headed in the story. “How did he go from there to here? Where is here?” They also build upon Balram’s character and sometimes further inform what we are about to read or what we just read.
Beyond that, this is a useful character study for morally gray characters. Balram and his favored master are very gray. They are kind, though they can do bad things to get what they want or need. They waver in their decisions, trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be. They are guided by their own thoughts and desires, as well as society and those around them who tell them what they should do or be like. Ultimately, I think Balram is good commentary for “do the ends justify the means?”
That’s all for me here. I personally didn’t care for this book, not my flavor. However, I can see why others might enjoy it very much.
So, yeah. Have a good, friends! Think of something about yourself that you are proud of next time you look in the mirror! ❤ Bye!
N. K. Valek: Author 