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 Vikram Seth
A modern classic, this epic tale of families, romance and political intrigue, set in India, never loses its power to delight and enchant readers. At its core, A Suitable Boy is a love story: the tale of Lata - and her mother's - attempts to find her a suitable husband, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny.
As a young man and a prisoner of war, Kurt Vonnegut witnessed the 1945 US fire-bombing of Dresden in Germany, which reduced the once proudly beautiful city to rubble and claimed the lives of thousands of its citizens. For many years, Kurt tried to write about Dresden but the words would not come. When he did write about it, he combined his trademark humour, unfettered imagination, boundless humanity and keen sense of irony to create one of the most powerful anti-war books every written, and an enduring American classic.
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.
by Kiran Desai
Set in the Himalayas during a time of political unrest, this Booker Prize winner follows a retired judge, his orphaned granddaughter, and their cook as they navigate personal and societal change. Interwoven with the cook’s son’s immigrant struggles in the U.S., The Inheritance of Loss examines colonial legacy, cultural dislocation, and fractured identities with lyrical poignancy.