Q & A

Swarup, Vikas. Q & A. New York: Scribner. 2005. Print.

First Sentences:

I have been arrested. For winning a quiz show.

Description:

Vikas Swarup in his novel Q & A has created one of the most clever and compelling stories that I can imagine. It is one of my favorite books to recommend to any reader looking for something new, something full of twists and turns, something with great characters and atmosphere, and something completely unpredictable.

Maybe you've already seen the movie Slumdog Millionaire which was based on this book. Don't be fooled. Q & A is far superior to the movie (as are all books compared to their movies), a riveting page-turner that simply cannot be put down from page one to the final irony on the last pages.  

Ram Mohammed Thomas, (yes, there is a great story behind how he got that name), is a poor waiter in a small bar in Mumbai, India. Uneducated, he somehow gets to be a contestant on the TV game show Who Wants to be a Billionaire? where he miraculously begins to answers all the questions correctly, gaining more and more money as he goes. 

The show's producers are astonished at his success and feel this ignorant young man of the streets must have cheated somehow. They try to beat out of him the trick he used, in order to avoid giving him the winnings and bankrupt the show. Only when Ram is rescued by a lawyer interested in justice and has questions of her own does Ram get to explain his story. 

All this happens in the first few pages.

In each ensuing chapter Ram tells the lawyer about a different episode in his life which provides him a morsel of experience that happens to be the exact information needed to answer a specific question on the game show. His knowledge of minutia is seemingly inconceivable, especially since the show's producers have demonstrated Ram does not even know the currency of France, the first man on the moon, the president of the United States, or the location of the pyramids.

Each chapter reveals more of Ram's life which consists of simply his struggles to stay alive using his wits, and from the kindness of people who help him. Often he runs afoul of not-so-nice people, portrayed with the realism and dangers that make their threats and the world they exist in so alive that we wonder how Ram can ever escape. From movie stars to kindly priests to tourists at the Taj Mahal to a special prostitute, the people and events of Ram's life form his education and his chances to win the game show.

The intricacies of each story of Ram's life and the inter-weaving of separate plots all skillfully written by Swarup make Q & A the most delightful and compelling of reads. My highest recommendation for all readers.

Happy reading. 


Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Swarup, Vikas. The Accidental Apprentice

The newest novel from Swarup has a salesgirl seeking to become the next CEO of a major company. All she has to do is believe this is a genuine offer and then pass seven test "from the textbook of life" as devised by the company's founder. 

Wolf in White Van

Darnielle, John. Wolf in White Van. New York: Farar, Straus and Giroux. 2014. Print.

First Sentences:

My father used to carry me down the hall to my room after I came home from the hospital.

By then I could walk if I had to, but the risk of falling was too great, so he carried me like a child. It's a cluster memory now: it consists of every time it happened and is recalled in a continuous loop.

Description:

Clearly, the narrator of John Darnielle's unusual, compelling book Wolf in White Van is physically damaged, but the exact nature of his injury is only slowly revealed. Something happened to Sean Phillips in his teens, but since he tells his story in reverse chronology, the exact situation that caused his damage is only revealed in the final paragraphs. His terribly distorted facial features serve as a background to the action of the plot rather than the driving force. As I said, unusual and compelling, daring readers to peek ahead to try to learn what happened to set the plot in motion.

Sean lives alone in his apartment, running a successful fantasy game n an imaginary post-apocalyptic world as they search for the mythical sheltering cityvia mail. Subscribers pay a fee and are given instructions for possible moves i. While online video games are available, his customers seems to prefer the snail-mail delivery format.

This is a game first imagined by Sean as a teen during the months he lay in a hospital recovering from some incident that left his face horribly disfigured. (It is hinted that this was due to an incident he may have brought about himself.) Upon return to his parents' home, he writes down all these memories and movements, carefully organizing them in files to create Trace Italian, a role-playing game. After placing ads in various magazines, players from around the world subscribe and write him for an introduction to this world and the first possible steps to address the choices they now face in this fantasy world.

All seems to progress well, but Sean' stream of thought narration occasionally refers to a young couple who took the game too far, confusing the imaginary world with the real one, and who suffered dire consequences. He only hints at this situation, again leaving the details tantalizingly off the page as he fleetingly contemplates their fates and his own possible role. As he tries to unravel their reasons as well as face his own withdrawal into his secluded life away from former friends and family, the plot slowly lets us learn about the workings of Sean's mind and the events that shaped his current situation.

I feel safe [at home], but I am lost, and I need constantly to be shoring up the wall that holds my emotions at bay, or I will feel something too great to contain.

It is a delicious book, full of interesting characters who anonymously play the intricate Trace Italian game or try to reconnect with Sean after the injury. The backwards revelations of the plot through a disjointed use of time and situation brings to mind the confusion of a video game: full of the unknown, choices, decisions, and consequences. The narrative captures the words and thoughts of a teen and adult Sean as he jumps from person to person, game situation to reality in his daily life.

It's a fascinating read that is on the many of the "Best Reads of 2014" lists. I completely agree.

Happy reading. 

Fred

www.firstsentencereader.blogspot.com

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Bronsky, Alina. Just Call Me Superhero

A young teen, horribly disfigured in his face, is thrown together with other damaged teens under the guidance of a questionable guru.