Q n A

Written by Vikas Swarup , an Indian diplomat , in 2005 .

The story is about an 18 year old waiter Ram Mohammad Thomas residing in the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai , who goes on to win the biggest prize ever in a quiz , a billion rupees .

What is most enticing is the unconventional mode of story telling in this book . The format follows a concept of Dualism , where there are two stories unravelling simultaneously , one is the present which is each question of the quiz and the other is the episode of the boys life related to that question . The most difficult for the author would have been to maintain consistency while keeping the reader engrossed because the story of the boys life goes back and forth in time . He has achieved this superbly .

In the process the author highlights the plight of an orphan in present day India , he tackels all difficult issues -incent , rape , torture and child labour . There is also subtle mockery at the current state of religion in the country , particularly the episode where he tells us bout the mystery of the boys name . There are some episodes which are almost gut wrenching , like the one in which an autistic child dies of hydrophobia .

But there is also a message in this book for all of us . As Swarup himself said "In the end I just trusted the reader to find light at the end of the tunnel".

A good book written with a lot of heart and soul .