Slumdog Millionaire: 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: 2008-11-18
ISBN: 1439136653
Number of pages: 318
Publisher: Scribner
Book Reviews of Slumdog Millionaire: A Novel
Book Review: A clever plot that keeps your attention throughout
Summary: 3 Stars
Ram Mohammad Thomas is a boy from the Indian slums who has entered a "Who wants to be a millionaire" style television quiz show. Despite his lack of formal education, his life experiences have perfectly equipped him to answer each question that comes up. Because the show's organizers are sure that he must have cheated, they ask him to explain how he was able to answer such difficult and obscure questions. Each chapter deals with another question and answer, and as the book progresses his very colorful life story is also gradually revealed.
This is not the most well written book I've read, but the way that the plot unfolds is very clever and keeps the reader's attention throughout. As each question is revealed, you can't help thinking "okay, now how is he going to integrate THIS into Ram's story?" and it's fun to see the way that he does, while also advancing the central plot. Slumdog Millionaire tears along at a quick pace: some parts are very amusing while others are very sad, but Swarup doesn't dwell on either. The way it all comes together at the end is highly contrived, but does make for a satisfactory conclusion.
If you enjoy books about India, there are other books that are more realistic or better written (I especially recommend the wonderful and highly moving novel "A Fine Balance"), but this is an easy and entertaining story that captures much of the essence of this fascinating country.
UPDATED 12/27: I have now seen the film Slumdog Millionaire. While the film has the taken the central theme and structure of the book, it also has many differences - for starters, the hero's name. Many plot elements of Ram/Dev's life story are entirely different in the film vs the book. Essentially the film is a very simplified version and hinges on the romance with Latika, which is not the case in the book. For me, the film works brilliantly, but it is not a slavish adaptation. This book is more "the book that inspired the film" rather than "the book of the film".
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