Started from the Bottom // Nothing Was The Same

"I have been arrested. For winning a quiz show. They came for me late last night, when even the stray dogs had gone off to sleep. They broke open my door, handcuffed me and marched me off to the waiting jeep with a flashing red light. There was no hue and cry. Not one resident stirred from his hut. Only the old owl on the tamarind tree hooted at my arrest."
Title: Q & A
Author: Vikas Swarup
Publisher: Doubleday
Publucation Year: 2005
Genre: Novel
Pages: 304
Source: http://www.vikasswarup.net/books/qaslumdog-millionaire/
Plot Overview: After being framed for cheating on India's equivalent of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Ram Mohammad Thomas recounts how he was able to answer all of the questions on the show. Each chapter opens up another question he was asked, evoking a flashback of how he knew the answer. Q & A blends the multiple aspects of life, revealing that sometimes the answer lies within.

My Thoughts:
Initially, I chose this book because of its film adaptation that I absolutely adored: Slumdog Millionaire. Q & A, however, has become my favorite book of all time. Coming from an Indian family, I had a little more insight on the hidden jokes and the cultural aspects hit home. You don't have to be Indian at all to enjoy this book, though.

Pros:
The novel discusses intense topics like religion, poverty, and domestic violence from a very close, personal perspective. Also, since the main character is around our change it's easily relatable.

Cons:
The flashbacks shown in the book don't go in chronological order. Often times, there are gaps of years between consecutive chapters.

Setting:

Kathryn rated a book really liked it

over 1 year ago

Q & A

by Vikas Swarup

Read in March 2015

I saw the movie made from this when it was on at the cinema - Slumdog Millionaire - and I thought it was a clever premise, although overly graphic in some respects. The book is just as clever, although different to the movie, because of course movies always change things. The book is less descriptive of disturbing scenes than the movie was graphic.

It was a very interesting read - I liked reading about the different places that Ram Mohammad Thomas lived and worked, and seeing how chance encounters gave him the knowledge to be able to answer 12 random questions on a quiz show - highly unlikely, but still fun to read!

Watch the trailer for the movie here: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q.