The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

I found this book on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. I started working on this list because it’s very easy for me to get stuck in a reading rut. Having a reading list (especially one so massive) has been helpful for me to broaden my horizons a bit. So far I’ve only read about forty of them, so I have a ways to go. Luckily, I have (at least) 50 more years to work on it.

The beauty of the list is that it leads me to books like The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, a book I probably would never have picked up otherwise. And I am very grateful that I did. It is an excellent book, full of contrasts. Our narrator, Balram, is from a very poor village in India. The book tells his story about how he became a servant and eventually made his way into upper class, owning his own business and being his own master. We see his journey through “the Darkness” of rural India to the bright lights of Delhi and Bangalore. Adiga does an amazing job describing all the different levels of society, not just the rich and the poor, but divisions between the rich who have power and the rich who are struggling to hold on to their power, the hierarchies among the poor who are servants and the poor who are living on the streets. Balram himself had very little formal schooling and yet is extremely intelligent, coming from a one room hut living with many family members and a water buffalo to eventually live in a beautiful home with lots of chandeliers.

It would be incredibly inspirational, if he didn’t have to kill his old employer in order to make it happen.

This book is incredibly gritty and shows the naked determination of this man to find a way to better his situation, to escape what he calls “The Rooster Coop” of poverty. It doesn’t make what he did right by any means, especially since the man he killed was one of the few masters who had been kind to him, in his own way. The violence of the deed just emphasizes what extremes a man can be forced to go to in order to break free of what society dictates is rightful place. Balram is an anti-hero who, despite his horrible deed, you can’t help but cheer for and hope that his endeavors are successful.

Another thing that is interesting is that the book is written as a series of letters that Balram is writing to the Premier of China. He uses it to explain the differences in the two countries, although whether or not the letters are meant to be sent remains unseen. Still, it made for a very dramatic backdrop on an already vivid story.

This is a great book that really makes you think. I highly recommend it.

Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

I originally picked this book up because of the cover. Let’s face it - when you’re a fantasy fan like me, it’s hard to resist a pretty dragon picture!  It’s a staple in the genre. I was pleased, however, to read a completely different take on the subject. Dragons have been used so many times in fantasy, it’s practically a cliché. If you want your story to immediately have a fantastical feel to it, just add some dragons up in the sky, and voila. It’s suddenly a fantasy! But always before, dragons were powerful, mysterious creatures. They were either indifferent to humans or formed some sort of magical link to one human, but other than that, they were aloof. Independent. Proud.

The dragons in this story are very different. For starters, there were some very serious problems when they hatched. Many of the dragons died early and the ones who survived were small, deformed, and not strong enough to fly. Instead of being a mystery to humans, they were completely dependent on humans for their very basic survival - not what I’m used to reading. Some of the dragons are dimwitted as well, but others are very bitter and resentful of their station in life. They have built in memories from their ancestors that tell them that life is not supposed to be like this and they hate it with a passion.

Enter our two main human characters: Thymara and Alise. When the people of the Rain Wilds River, who have been supporting the dragons, decide that they can no longer do so, these two women are part of the group that helps the dragons on their journey to an abandoned city upriver where they believe the dragons will be better off. Or at least, out of their way. The two women couldn’t be more different. Thymara is one of the Rain Wilds people, but she is also an outcast, born with a strange affliction that gives her very reptilian features. Many of the other people in the group are similarly afflicted. Because of this, they were suggested as “volunteers” to help the dragons on their way. Thymara, worried that she is a burden on her family, agrees to go, against her father’s wishes.

Alise is by far my favorite character in the book. She is from a larger city down river and has been fascinated with dragons ever since she was a child. For years, she has studied every book she could find on them. A plain girl, she never expected to get married, but the opportunity presented itself when a young wealthy Trader agreed to a marriage of convenience. He wanted to get his parents off his back about settling down and, in return, he offers to fund Alise’s studies. Of course, Alise wishes for more affection from her husband, but when her homelife becomes unbearable, she decides to take a trip upriver to see the dragons in person. For the first time on this trip, she feels free. Away from her parents, away from her husband, she gets to grow as her own person. I think that’s what makes her so appealing - she has the most development over the course of the story. She changes from being shy and meek to being strong and independent.

I definitely recommend this book. It’s a very interesting world filled with complex characters and one dragon in particular who is lovable despite having a huge chip on her shoulder.

A (very brief) introduction . . .

Here's the main thing you need to know about me. I read. A lot. Mostly fantasy, but I also branch out into other genres. Basically, I will read just about anything that anyone suggests might be good. Or so bad that it's fun to mock. Both have their merits.

In the real world, I'm a wife, mother, daughter, singer, accountant, and a half dozen other things, but here online, I am a book worm and proud of it. So if anyone would like to recommend a book to read, I'm all for it!