by Vikas Swarup
(originally published as Q&A)
Hennepin County Library audioCDs 10:45
read by Christopher Simpson
genre: realistic fiction, India
Oh my. This book was amazing and horrifying. Each time I read a book set in India, I'm taken aback by the commonplace cruelty, greed, lying, etc. Police brutality and government corruption seem to be the norm. Mary Verbick said she wishes she hadn't seen the movie because it was so disturbingly graphic. I'm very glad to have read the book, but I have no desire to see the movie.
Ram Mohammad Thomas has won the top prize (a billion rupees) on a quiz show. He is pulled from his bed, taken to prison, and tortured to confess that he cheated. The show's producers do not have the money to pay him and they do not understand how an uneducated man could have answered all the questions correctly. Just in the nick of time, a female lawyer shows up and takes Ram to find out the truth. As he shares his personal story in the order that illuminates his correct answers on the show, we get to know this extraordinary young man.
Not only was the story amazing, but this reader is the BEST I've EVER listened to!!! He created a huge cast of characters in an extremely believable manner - male and female, many different Indians, Australians, British, etc. This is the first time I've thought I ought to search out books by the reader (rather than author or theme). Absolutely delightful!
on 12.26.12 after re-listening. I'm adding the below after my third time listening to this story! What a well-woven story within a story. It's still intense and somewhat dark, but just amazing to listen to. ***Spoiler alerts below!*** And I've probably misspelled the character names horribly!>
Themes - mother (his recurring dream / image / mother with baby), homosexuality (Armand Ali, Father John, and Gupta at the juvenile home), alcohol (Chantaram, Black Label, whiskey, tending bar, drunkards telling truth, . . . ).
Smita - I love her!
"lahk" = 100,000
Q and A:
1. Betrayal - the movie with Armand Ali
2. INRI - Father Tim, no clue what FBI stood for
3. Pluto - Chantaram, his daughter, the kitten astronomy
4. blind poet / Krishna
5. PNG (persona non grata) - Australian spy
6. Haiti / voodoo - drunkard's story - Port Louis, Port Arthur, Port au Prince, Port Adelaide
7. Colt - revolver, train rider / bandit
8. (500K) highest honor in Indian military - time in the bunker, their local hero
9. (1 million) cricket /contract . . . time with assassin / substitution of Bollywood producer for Mammon
10. (10 million) Nilima Kumari - Tragedy Queen, national award 1985
11. (100 million) Shakespeare - "lifeboat" - called the guy whose son had rabies / Shankar - cerebral palsy? Swapna Davie / Nita - prostitute / Agra - tour guide
12. (1 billion) question on father of princess of Taj Mahal fame . . . since he knew it, new question on ??? (I don't remember!)
Timeline (rough):
infancy to age 8? / Father Tim
childhood / juvenile home, Saleem
12ish - Mammon, beggars, evil
Nilima Kumari (actress) - worked as house servant until she died
Chole with Saleem next? Chantaram / the bunker ???
ran from chole after Chantaram went through the railing - to Taylors?
Taylors / Australian family - got paid!
train ride / robbery / dead Dakote
Agra - tour guide - Shankar / Nita
back to Mumbai - the assassin? or maybe this was earlier
working as a waiter / bartender at Jimmy's
<Above posted on 1.2.2012. Below from blog entry in December 2012.>
This was a re-listen. What an incredible story! Mr. Simpson voices it very effectively. The tale of Ram Mohammed Thomas and his unlikely success winning a billion rupees amazes me in its intricacy and beauty amidst the horrors. In searching online to find out how to spell his unusual name (to satisfy the expectations of three different faith leaders), I'm horrified that his name is different in the movie version. Yet another reason NOT to watch the movie! The story of his name is one of my favorites in this wonderful book of storytelling.
<Above a copy / paste from December 2012 blog entry. Below added 6.29.2025>
I listened to the story again on Libby. I was so tempted to stop and make a chronological story order . . . and see now that I already did! There are probably better examples online, but I was curious about the author choosing to tell the story this way - in the order that the questions on the quiz show happened instead of chronologically. What an incredibly woven story. What a sad ending for Nilima Kumari. (Yes, I know I've probably misspelled the names in this horribly!)
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