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 What I thought was.....wasn't! Jul 23, 2010
Excellent book! I was a little hesistant about reading this book at first but because it was our book of the month selection for our book club...I decided to go through with it. Can you say AWESOME! I really did judge this book by it's cover initially. I thought a book about an Indian boy. Hmm would I have any interest? Would the story be current? Would it be a page turner and have me focused? Answer: All of the above! Slumdog Millionaire is the story of a boy that actually won the million dollars based on giving answers (to the tv show) that related to his own life. Very funny. Very witty. A must read:-)
Enjoyed but lost a star for ending tie ups. Jul 11, 2010
I enjoyed this book a lot, more then I thought I would after seeing the movie. I gave it three stars because of minor points, though I felt it a good read.
Good things about the book
1. Definitely better then the movie hands down. (Wonder why they didn't stick closer to the book.)
2. The surprises were awesome :).
3. I thought the idea of telling the story and then going back to the main point of the quiz show was very well done.
Spoilers be here.
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The Bad
1. I thought was some of the unrealistic ties in in the ending with some of the characters.
2. The thought that his rabies friend was autistic.. if he could speak before it wasn't autism. As you don't just become autistic.
 It was OK Feb 06, 2010
It's been several months since I read this, so my review will be short. While I understand conditions in much of India, this story was, at times, depressing to me. I don't see all the hype given to the movie because of the story, but then, I guess that's America. It was kind of an OK read to me & certainly not as wonderful as I'd expected by all the movie hype. Oh well.
It's Not the Movie... It's Much Better! Jan 11, 2010
If you haven't read Q & A by Vikas Swarup, you should. Even if you hated the movie that was based on it, Slumdog Millionaire, you should read the book (like most book/movie adaptions, the book is very different, and much better!).
This book is unique and creative, and different than almost anything out there. The story itself could have been just another story of a boy in the slums of India, growing up without parents and ending up on a quiz show. And I probably would never have picked it up.
What makes this book different is its structure: the whole format of the book is different than anything else I've read. Its premise is stated in the first few pages: boy from slums wins a billion rupees on game show and is arrested for cheating. How can a boy with no education know the answers to questions most people in India don't know?
The rest of the book is structured by the game show: each chapter is a slice of the boy's life, followed by the question. Of course, each answer comes from the experiences of his life.
Unlike the movie, the book doesn't follow a chronological timeline. It jumps back and forth through his life, with few threads throughout so it's almost a series of vignettes about his life that you might be tempted to think have no bearing on each other at all. In this way, it's easy to read, quick, certain sections more interesting than others, but all like pieces of a puzzle.
And the end... BAM! Just when you think it's just a story about his life.... maybe a commentary on the game show industry or on poverty or a referendum on how humans treat each other... it suddenly becomes something much greater. The threads of the story-line, all seemingly random, come together in a WOW moment.
Swarup could have written this book with a traditional chronological structure, but my guess is the book might never have been picked up. What makes it fantastic - what gives it that WOW factor in the last few pages - is it's uniqueness in the way it uses time and the way time is less important than the quiz show format. It's brilliant.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great Movie, Even Better Book Dec 18, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire, previously known as Q & A by Vikus Swamp was a very interesting book. Even if you have seen the movie, the book is different with the same plot so it is worth the read. Personally, I think the book was better than the movie. The only negative is that it jumps from story to story which is somewhat confusing, but what makes it also so interesting. I would recommend this book to the fans of the movie or if people have not yet seen the movie and want to, they should read the book first.
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