Last Man In Tower - Hardcover

Aravind Adiga

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 9350290847 ISBN 13: 9789350290842

Publisher: Harper Collins India, 2011

Synopsis

Ask any Bombaywallah about Tower A of the Vishram Co-operative Housing Society and you will be told that it is unimpeachably pucca. Despite its location close to the airport and being bordered by slums, it has been pucca for some fifty years. But then Bombay has changed in half a century not least its name and the world in which Tower A was first built is giving way to a new city, a Mumbai of new development and new money; of wealthy Indians returning with fortunes made abroad. When real estate developer Dharmen Shah offers to buy out the residents of Vishram Society, planning to use the site to build a luxury apartment complex, his offer is more than generous. Yet not everyone wants to leave; many of them have lived in Vishram for years, many are no longer young. But none can benefit from the offer unless all agree to sell. As tensions rise, one by one, those who oppose the offer give in to the pressure of the majority, until only one man stands in the way of Shah s luxury high-rise: Masterji, a retired school teacher, once the most respected man in the building. Shah is a dangerous man to refuse, but as the demolition deadline looms, Masterji s neighbours friends who have become enemies, acquaintances turned co- conspirators may stop at nothing to score their payday. A suspense-filled story of money and power, luxury and deprivation; a rich tapestry peopled by unforgettable characters, not least of which is Bombay itself, Last Man in Tower opens up the hearts and minds of the inhabitants of a great city ordinary people pushed to their limits in a place that knows none.

About this title

Review:

"Epic. . . Adiga capture[s] the vicious underbelly of modern-day real estate in India's maximum city. Even more so, he taps into the lives and minds of India's growing middle class. They inhabit the sphere between the city's slums and, say, the world's first billion-dollar home recently built in Bombay, with more square footage than the Palace of Versailles. Like the United States more than a half a century earlier, India is in its ascension, and all the materialism and belligerence about who might be getting left behind is a perfect echo of our Cold War era. The Indians of Adiga's book yearn for material stability. What that means, how much one really needs to be secure, is at the heart of the story. For the defiant Masterji, [what it means] is the dangerous desire of wanting nothing other than to die in the place where his family's memories reside."
--Meera Subramanian, "Orion Magazine
"
"Vivid. . . A novel written by a Man Booker prize winner [comes with] high expectations, [and] Adiga's latest "Last Man in Tower, "does not disappoint. He skillfully builds the backdrop for his story. With few words, he sets the scene of poverty and filth in the slums in sharp contrast to the newfound riches made by some in Mumbai, contrasting the new India and its bright technological future with the last remnants of the British Raj. . . . Graphic and colorful . . . thought-provoking and intense."
--Christine Morris Campbell, "The Decatur Daily"
"In the rapidly expanding city of Mumbai, where new buildings sprout like weeds, the construction business isn't just a front for illegal activity, it's a raison d'etre. When a less-than-ethical developer tries to lure, and later coerce, a community of long-standing tenants out of their apartment complex, it is only the widowed schoolteacher of 3A who continues to rebuff him. In this struggle, Adiga--the author of the Man Booker-winning "The White Tiger"--maps out in luminous prose India's ambivalence toward its acce

A Best Book of the Year:
"The Boston Globe
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Daily Beast"
Brilliant. . . . If you loved the movie "Slumdog Millionaire, "you will inhale the novel "Last Man in Tower. "Adiga s second novel is even better than the superb "White Tiger. . . ." First-rate. . . . You simply do not realize how anemic most contemporary fiction is until you read Adiga s muscular prose. His plots don t unwind, they surge.
"USA Today"
Provocative and decadent. . . . The kind of novel that s so richly insightful . . . it s hard to know where to begin singing its praises. . . . Vain, shrewd and stubborn, [Masterji] is one of the most delightfully contradictory characters to appear in recent fiction.
"The Washington Post"
Masterful. . . . With this gripping, amusing glimpse into the contradictions and perils of modern India, Adiga cements his reputation as the preeminent chronicler of his country s messy present.
"Newsweek"
Adiga has written the story of a New India. . . . This funny and poignant story is multidimensional, layered with many engaging stories and characters.
"The Seattle Times"
A rare achievement. . . . Adiga captures with heartbreaking authenticity the real struggle in Indian cities, which is for dignity. A funny yet deeply melancholic work, "Last Man in Tower" is a brilliant, and remarkably mature, second novel.
"The Economist"
With wit and observation, Adiga gives readers a well-rounded portrait of Mumbai in all of its teeming, bleating, inefficient glory. . . . Like any good novelist, Adiga s story lingers because it nestles in the heart and the head.
"Christian Science Monitor"
"Last Man in Tower" is a nuanced study of human nature in all of its complexity and mystery. (It is also humane and funny.) Nothing is quite as it seems in the novel, which makes for surprises both pleasant and disturbing.
"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"
Adiga populates his fiction with characters from all parts of India s contemporary social spectrum, and the intensity of his anger at aspects of modern India is modulated by his impish wit.
"The Wall Street Journal"
Adiga maps out in luminous prose India s ambivalence toward its accelerated growth, while creating an engaging protagonist . . . a man whose ambition and independence have been tempered with an understanding of the important, if almost imperceptible, difference between development and progress.
"Entertainment Weekly"
[An] adroit, ruthless and sobering novel. . . . Adiga peppers his universally relevant tour de force with brilliant touches, multiple ironies and an indictment of our nature.
"The Star Ledger"
Adiga is an exceptionally talented novelist, and the subtlety with which he presents the battle between India s aspirants and its left-behind poor is exceptional.
"Richmond Times-Dispatch"
A brilliant examination of the power of money. . . . Ultimately "Last Man in Tower" is about how greed affects compassion. . . . Adiga skillfully unfolds a surprising conclusion that underscores what a great novel this is.
"Minneapolis Star-Tribune"
[Full of] acute observations and sharp imagery. . . . Like all cautionary tales, it embodies more than a little truth about our times.
"Financial Times"
Dickensian. . . . Well worth the time of any reader interested in the circumstances of life in a seemingly foreign place that turns out to be awfully familiar. . . . Readers above all else will find pleasure and pain in the ups and downs of the human family itself.
"San Francisco Chronicle""

A Best Book of the Year:
The Boston Globe
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Daily Beast

"Brilliant. . . . If you loved the movie Slumdog Millionaire, you will inhale the novel Last Man in Tower. Adiga's second novel is even better than the superb White Tiger. . . . First-rate. . . . You simply do not realize how anemic most contemporary fiction is until you read Adiga's muscular prose. His plots don't unwind, they surge."
--USA Today

"Provocative and decadent. . . . The kind of novel that's so richly insightful . . . it's hard to know where to begin singing its praises. . . . Vain, shrewd and stubborn, [Masterji] is one of the most delightfully contradictory characters to appear in recent fiction."
--The Washington Post

"Masterful. . . . With this gripping, amusing glimpse into the contradictions and perils of modern India, Adiga cements his reputation as the preeminent chronicler of his country's messy present."
--Newsweek

"Adiga has written the story of a New India. . . . This funny and poignant story is multidimensional, layered with many engaging stories and characters."
--The Seattle Times

"A rare achievement. . . . Adiga captures with heartbreaking authenticity the real struggle in Indian cities, which is for dignity. A funny yet deeply melancholic work, Last Man in Tower is a brilliant, and remarkably mature, second novel."
--The Economist

"With wit and observation, Adiga gives readers a well-rounded portrait of Mumbai in all of its teeming, bleating, inefficient glory. . . . Like any good novelist, Adiga's story lingers because it nestles in the heart and the head."
--Christian Science Monitor

"Last Man in Tower is a nuanced study of human nature in all of its complexity and mystery. (It is also humane and funny.) Nothing is quite as it seems in the novel, which makes for surprises both pleasant and disturbing."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"Adiga populates his fiction with characters from all parts of India's contemporary social spectrum, and the intensity of his anger at aspects of modern India is modulated by his impish wit."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Adiga maps out in luminous prose India's ambivalence toward its accelerated growth, while creating an engaging protagonist . . . a man whose ambition and independence have been tempered with an understanding of the important, if almost imperceptible, difference between development and progress."
--Entertainment Weekly

"[An] adroit, ruthless and sobering novel. . . . Adiga peppers his universally relevant tour de force with brilliant touches, multiple ironies and an indictment of our nature."
--The Star Ledger

"Adiga is an exceptionally talented novelist, and the subtlety with which he presents the battle between India's aspirants and its left-behind poor is exceptional."
--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"A brilliant examination of the power of money. . . . Ultimately Last Man in Tower is about how greed affects compassion. . . . Adiga skillfully unfolds a surprising conclusion that underscores what a great novel this is."
--Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"[Full of] acute observations and sharp imagery. . . . Like all cautionary tales, it embodies more than a little truth about our times."
--Financial Times

"Dickensian. . . . Well worth the time of any reader interested in the circumstances of life in a seemingly foreign place that turns out to be awfully familiar. . . . Readers above all else will find pleasure and pain in the ups and downs of the human family itself."
--San Francisco Chronicle

Book Description:

The second novel by the Booker Prize-winning, million-copy-selling author of The White Tiger is Atlantic's biggest paperback of 2012 and will be supported by its biggest ever marketing campaign.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Collins India
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 9350290847
• ISBN 13: 9789350290842
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 432