Balram Halwai is the White Tiger - the smartest boy in his village. His family is too poor for him to afford for him to finish school and he has to work in a teashop, breaking coals and wiping tables. But Balram gets his break when a rich man hires him as a chauffeur, and takes him to live in Delhi. The city is a revelation. As he drives his master to shopping malls and call centres, Balram becomes increasingly aware of immense wealth and opportunity all around him, while knowing that he will never be able to gain access to that world. As Balram broods over his situation, he realizes that there is only one way he can become part of this glamorous new India - by murdering his master.
An Indian author whose debut novel, The White Tiger, won the Man Booker Prize. His work often satirizes the class divide, corruption, and social inequalities prevalent in contemporary India. Adiga's sharp wit, cynical perspective, and unflinching portrayal of India's complexities offer a fresh and provocative voice in global literature. He excels at crafting compelling narratives that expose the struggles and aspirations of marginalized individuals in a rapidly changing society.
by J.M. Coetzee
J. M. Coetzee's Booker Prize-winning novel Disgrace, set in post-apartheid South Africa, takes us into the disquieting mind of twice-divorced university teacher David Lurie as he loses his job and his honour after engaging in an ill-advised affair with a susceptible student. When he retreats to his daughter's farm, a brutal attack highlights their fractured relationship. Is it only through intense suffering and shame-his own as well as that of others-that David can begin to change, to understand his country and what it means to be human? In Disgrace, this Nobel-Prize winning writer examines ideas of evil, violence, dignity and redemption in a country dominated by the power dynamics of race.
by Donna Tartt
Donna Tartt's The Secret History is the original American campus novel. When Richard Papen joins an elite group of clever misfits at his New England college, it seems he can finally become the person he wants to be. Donna Tartt's The Secret History is the original American campus novel. When Richard Papen joins an elite group of clever misfits at his New England college, it seems he can finally become the person he wants to be. But the moral boundaries he will cross with his new friends - and the deaths they are responsible for - will change all of their lives forever. The Secret History recounts the terrible price we pay for mistakes made on the dark journey to adulthood.
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses is a complex, controversial novel blending magical realism with political and religious commentary. The story follows two Indian actors who survive a terrorist attack and undergo surreal transformations—one angelic, the other demonic. Through dream sequences and allegories, the novel explores themes of identity, migration, faith, and blasphemy. Loosely inspired by Islamic history and mythology, it sparked global debates on freedom of expression and religious sensitivity. Rich in symbolism and linguistic play, it remains a provocative and significant literary work.
Set in 1960s Kerala, India, this Booker Prize-winning novel tells the story of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel, whose lives are shaped by a family tragedy and societal taboos. Roy’s lyrical prose weaves themes of caste, colonialism, love, and memory in a nonlinear narrative. The God of Small Things is a haunting, richly textured novel about loss, forbidden love, and the enduring pull of the past.