Monday, April 23, 2007
Q & A
I just read a book with the most interesting plot. It's been said that there are no original stories left in the world, and while this may be true at it's root, I still think there are many original ways to tell a story. Indian author Vikas Swarup does just that in his book "Q & A." The premise of the novel, which does not give anything away, is that an orphaned Indian boy, 18 years old, goes on a quiz show called Who Will Win a Billion? and he wins a billion rupees. The day after winning, he is arrested because the show's producers claim that he cheated. This is where the novel starts. The rest of the chapters are structured so that Ram Mohammed Thomas, the main character, tells his life story based on each of the questions he is asked in the show. Of course, he is trying to show how he knew the answer to each question and prove that he didn't cheat. This was a fabulous way to tell the story and kept me guessing as to what the question would be from the story he told in each chapter. I rarely could tell. At the end, there were three twists that I didn't see coming. Now that's a story!
Here's an interview with Vikas Swarup by Channel NewsAsia.
Here's an interview with Vikas Swarup by Channel NewsAsia.
Labels: answer, books, india, novel, originality, question, vikas swarup, writers
