Tina McCausland discusses another successful Global Footsteps book club discussion.We learnt about the character Balsam who grows up in the underbelly of Indian society, which Balsam also refers to as 'the darkness'.
The story is told in Balsam's voice as we experience life in the slums of India, the caste system and the lives of those in servitude.
The group commented on the many animal references throughout the book such as Balsam being also known as The White Tiger and the metaphor of a chicken in a coop to descibe how Balsam feels about his life and the society that he lives in.
We were encouraged to discuss politics, religion and prejudice as we explored Balsam's long desperate journey from the darkness into the light of a higher 'better' society and so Balsam's apparent freedom from servitude. We commented on the the ugly sacrifices that he makes to move into the light (as he eventually believes that the key to the door of his cage was always open).
We admired the author's language such as "Every now and then an egg will crack open - a woman's hand, dazzling with gold bangles, stretches out of an open window, flings an empty mineral water bottle onto the road - and then the window goes up and the egg is resealed" (p. 134).
Everyone had lots of particularly positive things to say about this book and it also generated discussion about personal experiences of India (and the suggestion to read the book Shantaram, also a book about he slums of India).
The White Tiger opens the door on the harsh injustices experienced by the poor in India and could be applied to other countries. We found it inciteful, brutal, tender, witty and poetic.
Book for next book club session
The 5 People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Suggestions of books for future book club sessions
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafis
The Winter Book by Tove Jansson
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
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