Review: Q&A by Vikas Swarup
by Jenners • 02/06/2010 • 3.5 Stars, Contemporary, Fiction, Q Titles, S Authors • 11 Comments
1 Book you read: Q&A by Vikas Swarup
2 Words that describe the book: Fractured lifestory
3 Settings where it took place or characters you met:
- Setting: In and about Mumbai, India, Modern day
- Ram Mohammad Thomas—an uneducated waiter who has managed to answer all the questions correctly on India’s version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”—to the suspicion of the police and the horror of show producers
- Smita Shah—Ram’s lawyer and the person who hears his story of how he came to know the answers to all the questions asked of him on the game show
4 Things you liked and/or disliked about it:
- I liked how you learn Ram’s life story in bits and pieces as he explains how he knew the answers to all the questions.
- I liked how different parts of Ram’s story come into play at the ending of the book. It illustrates how karma can come back and help you.
- I disliked how I got a bit confused sometimes as far as the chronology of Ram’s story because the answers to each quiz question come from different parts of Ram’s life. However, this was might just been me reading the books in bits and pieces. It makes sense how Swarup writes the book, but the movie based on the book (Slumdog Millionaire) takes a more chronological approach that is a bit easier to follow.
- I liked that you get a view of different elements of Indian life and culture as Ram tells his story.
5 Stars or less for your rating?
I’m giving the book 3.5 stars. I thought it was a clever premise for a book, and Swarup does a good job of pulling it off without seeming hokey. How Ram comes to win the money was quite believable, and the writing is fluid and not fussy. I started watching Slumdog Millionaire (which I still haven’t finished!), and thought that the structure was true to the book but Ram’s story is not always the same. As I mentioned above, the movie is more chronological while the book jumps around in time. Although some elements are present in both the book and the movie, they are actually quite different. At the same time, I thought the movie was a pretty good adaptation of the book; it felt true to its essence. It was an interesting story, and it is fun to compare the book and movie. I originally read this for my Q book for the A to Z Challenge last year, and I think it would be an outstanding choice for this challenge. Recommended!
Why and Where I Got The Book
I bought my copy of the book for last year’s A to Z Challenge. I gave my copy to my brother as he was interested in comparing the book and the movie too.
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And it seems that our Show Me 5 Saturday hostess is missing in action since November so I thought I’d include a Mr. Linky with my post in case you want to hook up your own contribution. Hopefully, she’ll be back to blogging soon.
I'm one of the few people on the planet that still hasn't watched Slumdog Millionaire! I always prefer to read the book and then watch the movie but in this case I think I can skip to the movie.
I really liked both the book (my copy is the renamed "Slumdog Millionaire") and the movie, even though the movie didn't follow the book that closely. They even changed the main character's name.
It's hard for me to say which version I preferred, however!
I haven't read the book but liked the movie a lot.
I haven't seen the movie and didn't realise it was based on a book either. Sounds as though it is worth reading.
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Loved the movie, and I'm guessing I would like this even more.
I had no idea the name of the book was not the same as the movie. I loved the movie, but I'm the type (i.e., lazy) not to read the book if I've already seen the movie.
I saw the movie, so I probably wouldn't get confused with the way the story is told. I really liked the movie, so I'd like to read this.
I've not even seen the movie…my parents have it in their possession but I can't seem to find the time to watch it. This is a book I would want to read though. I like this review format BTW. Very easy!
I'm glad you liked the book. I saw the movie and thought it was pretty good and knew I'd read the book eventually. I'll wait a bit because I hate making my own comparisons of book/movie. If I wait a little longer I'll forget most of the movie *smile*
I liked the book much better than the movie. It captures the essence really well ..
Although I never saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire(probably the last person on earth who hasn't), the book sounds interesting. It always intrigues me to see how close to a book the movie gets. Glad you liked it.