Q&A – A Must Read

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Recommended: Indian literature in love

When I was a kid, I enjoyed reading fantasy and mystery novels. The mystical, imaginary worlds and discovering unsolved mysteries triggered my imagination. However, as I grew older I began to develop of love for all genres, from young adult fiction to romance. Currently, my favourite novel is Q & A by Vikas Swarup, which touches on romance a long with contemporary reality. The book revolves around the life and experiences of the main character Ram Mohammed Thomas; an uneducated young waiter living in the slums of India. Ram has become the biggest quiz show winner ever only to be sent to jail on accusations that he cheated. What the audience does not know is that every moment of his life is a clue to one of the answers. Through retellings of his life stories we are able to discover not only how he answered these questions on the game show but also, we uncover the truth about Ram’s brutal and emotional life from a child to a young adult.
The format of this novel is one of reasons why I love this book the way I do. In the prologue, we are told of Ram’s arrest and how a lawyer comes to his rescue, one willing to fight for his innocence. Every chapter is presented as one question, from question one to thirteen. Each chapter begins with a retelling of Ram’s personal stories and experiences, which lead him to his answer in the game show. The author then fast-forwards to the present, Ram is showing his lawyer the recording of the quiz show and we watch Ram’s response to the answers. The most intriguing part of this structure is the exclusion of chronological order; Ram is an adult in the first chapter however he is a child in the second. The mystery that remains of Ram’s life and putting the pieces together brings excitement to this boo...

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...ve, reality and adventure, which is a pleasant change from some young adult books that focus on romance. Vikas Swarup has such an observant and apprehensive voice, it is as if fiction has become reality and you are present in the stories alongside Ram and the other characters.
Slumdog Millionaire is a movie based on the book Q & A that dives into the eyes of Jamal, an Indian “slumdog” who is a contestant on Who wants to be a millionaire?. The powerful visuals and plot of this film presents the reality of life however; there is a certain property of the book that cannot be delivered through a movie. It is not by watching visually the retelling of the life of Ram (Jamal in the movie) that I have fallen in love with this book but by reading, experiencing the life stories and adventure Thomas encounters throughout his journey that I have thoroughly enjoyed this book.

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