Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

I came late to the party - very late. Fortunately I'd not seen the film either (still haven't, but now I hope to), so my impressions of the book are untainted and without any movie-derived preconceptions.

The book is cleverly constructed and offers a whirling kaleidoscope of the India a tourist never sees, except for the Taj Mahal - and then you get an unregistered guide's perspective. From the tragedy and the despair of sprawling slums, to the cheek by jowl living in a chawl, to the darting touches of ever-optimistic, aspirational India, Vikas Swarup shares his India with the world. For this alone it is an amazing read.

I found one or two aspects of the plot a little contrived - but then, we're talking about a plot where the unlikely hero wins a billion rupees on a game show! For the greatest part of the book, however, the story flowed very naturally. The pace is quite quick for such a substantial book, but the structure was, I thought, just a little repetitive. Only a little. There are a couple of great twists.

There are moments of hilarity, volumes of excellent social observation, some quiet wit and some heavy-handed puns. By the end, I felt that I'd enjoyed a literary banquet.
Be warned, there are some unpleasantly true-to-life passages and pages. To give a list of specific cautions would spoil the book, so I will just say that these parts are not recommended for sensitive readers. There are, however, no detailed sex scenes (not the same thing as *no* sex scenes) and minimal use of foul language.
In the end, I call this a wonderful read, which I was unable to put down until I'd finished.