The White Tiger
by Aravind Adiga (Simon and Schuster, 2008; 288 pages; $14, paper)
 The White Tiger, an international bestseller and winner of the prestigious Man Booker Prize last year, gives plenty of warning about its tone. Right on the back it says the novel is “amoral.”
But it also is described as “deeply endearing.” The addition of the last phrase might lead a naïve reader (like me!) to assume the book’s characters eventually find a moral center. If they become endearing, they must develop a conscience — right?
Not really.
The White Tiger is the account of one how one poor Indian servant, Balram, becomes a successful entrepreneur, launching a driving service for India’s growing tech companies. It’s a story of murder, theft and bribes. It involves casting family aside, almost literally leaving them to the wolves. Balram sleeps well at the end, but the reader might not.
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See all the Media Picks book reviewsWritten by Aravind Adiga, a former journalist who was born in India, The White Tiger follows a long line of recent successful novels set in India. But unlike most of those, this book would never be described as lush or lyrical. Instead, it looks at the gritty underworld of India, a world of desperation and poverty that has the reader rooting for Balram, despite his imperfections, through much of the early chapters.
But the final third of the book prompts some haunting questions: What keeps the impoverished from revolting? Why don’t the people storm out of the slums and steal and kill for food?
Near the end Balram writes: “Haven’t I succeeded in the struggle that every poor man here should be making, not to take the lashes your father took, not to end up in a mound of indistinguishable bodies that will rot in the black mud of the Mother Ganga? True, there is the question of murder ... But isn’t it likely that everyone who counts in this world ... has killed someone?”
Many readers may find that they don’t have a strong enough stomach for the depravity in this book. But if you have the fortitude, you’ll be glad you allowed the book’s questions to enter your mind.
—Beverly Bartlett
The Lost History of Christianity: The Thousand-Year Golden Age
by Philip Jenkins (HarperOne, 2008; 315 pages, $26.95, hardcover)
 Many people view Christianity as a religion with roots in Western Europe. In this work Jenkins examines the early years of the faith, as it developed and spread through the Middle East, Asia and northern Africa.
In addition to Rome, centers of Christianity were found in Alexandria, Syria, Antioch, Edessa and Turkey. These developed many practices of the Christian faith that eventually took hold in the West, including hymn singing and worship of the Virgin Mary.
For a while Christianity coexisted peacefully with other religions. But the rise and spread of Islam saw a decline of Christianity and its influence throughout Asia and the Middle East. The faith witnessed persecution and destruction, although believers still remained. The last stronghold of Christianity in this region, Constantinople, fell to Islam in 1453.
The exploration of how a faith that has been embraced by millions can die off teaches us lessons for today. Sadly, Christianity is still declining today in areas such as Iraq, where fears for safety have caused many Christians to leave.
—Judith Klamm, a member of Southminster Presbyterian Church, Prairie Village, Kan.
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