Q & A: A Novel
by Vikas Swarup
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Book Summary Information
Author: Vikas SwarupEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-08-12
ISBN: 0743267486
Number of pages: 336
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of Q & A: A Novel
Book Review: A Brilliant Read!
Summary: 5 Stars
If you haven't read Q & A by Vikas Swarup, you should. Even if you hated the movie that was based on it, Slumdog Millionaire, you should read the book (like most book/movie adaptions, the book is very different, and much better!).
This book is unique and creative, and different than almost anything out there. The story itself could have been just another story of a boy in the slums of India, growing up without parents and ending up on a quiz show. And I probably would never have picked it up.
What makes this book different is its structure: the whole format of the book is different than anything else I've read. Its premise is stated in the first few pages: boy from slums wins a billion rupees on game show and is arrested for cheating. How can a boy with no education know the answers to questions most people in India don't know?
The rest of the book is structured by the game show: each chapter is a slice of the boy's life, followed by the question. Of course, each answer comes from the experiences of his life.
Unlike the movie, the book doesn't follow a chronological timeline. It jumps back and forth through his life, with few threads throughout so it's almost a series of vignettes about his life that you might be tempted to think have no bearing on each other at all. In this way, it's easy to read, quick, certain sections more interesting than others, but all like pieces of a puzzle.
And the end... BAM! Just when you think it's just a story about his life.... maybe a commentary on the game show industry or on poverty or a referendum on how humans treat each other... it suddenly becomes something much greater. The threads of the story-line, all seemingly random, come together in a WOW moment.
Swarup could have written this book with a traditional chronological structure, but my guess is the book might never have been picked up. What makes it fantastic - what gives it that WOW factor in the last few pages - is it's uniqueness in the way it uses time and the way time is less important than the quiz show format. It's brilliant.
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