Slumdog Millionaire: A Novel [Paperback]

Vikas Swarup (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 18, 2008

Eighteen-year-old Ram Mohammed Thomas is in prison after answering twelve questions correctly on a TV quiz show to win one billion rupees. The producers have arrested him, convinced that he has cheated his way to victory. Twelve extraordinary events in street-kid Ram's life - how he was found in a dustbin by a priest; came to have three names; fooled a professional hitman; even fell in love - give him the crucial answes. In his warm-hearted tale lies all the comedy, tragedy, joy and pathos of modern India.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Ram Mohammad Thomas, an orphaned, uneducated waiter from Mumbai, wins a billion rupees on a quiz show, he finds himself thrown in jail. (Unable to pay out the prize, the program's producers bribed local authorities to declare Ram a cheater.) Enter attractive lawyer Smita Shah, to get Ram out of prison and listen to him explain, via flashbacks, how he knew the answers to all the show's questions. Indian diplomat Swarup's fanciful debut is based on a sound premise: you learn a lot about the world by living in it (Ram has survived abandonment, child abuse, murder). And just as the quiz show format is meant to distill his life story (each question prompts a separate flashback), Ram's life seems intended to distill the predicament of India's underclass in general. Rushdie's Midnight's Children may have been a model: Ram's brash yet innocent voice recalls that of Saleem Sinai, Rushdie's narrator, and the sheer number of Ram's near-death adventures represents the life of the underprivileged in India, just as Saleem wore a map of India, quite literally, on his face. But Swarup's prose is sometimes flat and the story's picaresque form turns predictable. Ram is a likable fellow, but this q&a with him, though clever, grows wearying.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Swarup's inventive debut traces the fortunes of Ram Mohammad Thomas from "Asia's biggest slum" to his sudden acquisition of enormous wealth as the biggest winner on the popular quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? A poor, uneducated waiter, Ram is arrested after the final episode in the belief that he must have cheated. In jail he shares his hardscrabble life with his lawyer: his abandonment at birth in a used clothing bin, the church orphanage where he was dubbed an "idiot orphan boy," the foster home where children were purposely crippled and forced to beg, the estate of an Australian diplomat who was really a spy, the home of an aging Bollywood actress, and his meager waiter job. Each chapter in Ram's life provided him with a correct answer on the show, as a la Forrest Gump, he has been in the right place at the right time. Ram's funny and poignant odyssey explores the causes of good and evil and illustrates how, with a little luck, the best man sometimes wins. Deborah Donovan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 318 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (November 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439136653
• ISBN-13: 978-1439136652
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (84 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,208 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #26 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Indian

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Picaresque Debut, November 26, 2005

By 

A. Ross (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Q & A: A Novel (Hardcover)

Despite heartrending descriptions of sexual abuse, racism, poverty, homeless and much, much, more in modern India, this is an utterly enjoyable picaresque adventure that is one of the best reads of the year. In the hands of another author, the brief life story Ram Mohammad Thomas would probably be told as a simple tearjerker tragedy and the reader would be left to shake their head sorrowfully at the plight of another poor third-world soul. However, Swarup has a gimmick framework up his sleeve, and it works like a charm. Granted, one has to be willing to go along with the premise that this entire structure is based on coincidence of colossal proportions -- readers who aren't willing to suspend disbelief will probably not last more than a few chapters.

We first meet the 18-year-old protagonist in jail, where he sits accused of defrauding the popular TV game show "Who Wants to Be A Billionaire?" (in rupees). Despite being abandoned at birth, uneducated, and left to fend for himself for most of his life, it seems Ram somehow managed to answer the show's twelve questions correctly. To all outside observers, his social standing and lack of education appear to preclude this happening legitimately. However, just as the police are about to unleash some heavy manners on him, a mysterious lawyer intervenes and takes him away. The story then unfolds question by question, as Ram tells her via flashbacks to his life just how he managed to know each answer.

Ram's life story unfolds as a series of episodes ranging from the horrific to the merely tragicomic, and in a sense, one can view him as emblematic of India's lost children, and the book as caustic social commentary on contemporary India. Aside from being abandoned at birth, he must contend with a pedophile priest, a closeted homosexual movie star, a violent, drunken neighbor bent on incest, international espionage, child slavery, numerous thieves, a suicidal employer, and the deaths of several close friends. And yet, despite this bleak subject matter, the intrepid Ram keeps doggedly moving forward and surviving. This isn't done in a sentimental, "triumph of the human sprit", after-school special way, but in a straightforward manner that shows a confused young boy doing whatever it takes to live. And of course, the ultimate moral of the story is that those who keep their eyes and ears open in life can learn a lot about it without any books. An excellent story, well-told, and doubtless to be made into a film.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A clever plot that keeps your attention throughout, December 2, 2008

By 

Julia Flyte - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Slumdog Millionaire: A Novel (Paperback)

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".

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful plot, extremely well told., December 8, 2004

By 

madhu m (Chennai, India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Q and a (Hardcover)

an 18 year old uneducated waiter from bombay wins the largest ever prize-money awarded in a "who wants to be a billionaire?" quiz show. naturally, the organisers suspect foul play. did he have insider information about the questions? or did someone in the audience tip him off using signs? how could a person of such low socail standing know the answers to these difficult questions? vikas swarup's protagonist, tells his life story through each question. it just so happens that through a series of enormous coincidences, incidents in his life have provided him the answers to justthese 12 questions. as he narrates his life story question by question and answer by answer, we discover a plucky hero who has fought ahead in life through sheer courage and mental strength.

although, the stories start off bleak dealing with such weighty topics as pedophilia, homosexuality, incest, child abuse, the underworld .. the overall effect of the novel is sprightly and enjoyable. while this might not be for the squeamish, it is bound to provide good payoffs for those who stick by it.

i was lucky to be able to lay my hands on an advance copy of this book. i am normally very skeptical of indian writers in english, but vikas swarup offers us a polished debut that showcases good storytelling skills.

i would recommend this novel for people interested in a ripping yarn, and not for those interested in reading about the underbelly of indian metropolis life. this is a story with liberal license used by the author, thatstretches ones believability at points, but when the plotting is as interesting as this, one can indulge the author in his fancies.