Book Review : Selection Day by Aravind Adiga

By Murtaza Kuwarawala -
I was quite hesitant to pick up a Booker Prize Winning Book after the terrible experience that was 'The God of Small Things' by Arundhati Roy. I know I'm gonna receive a lot of flak for terming it as a terrible book but I just couldn't grasp that book and the only good thing that the book did to me was cure my insomnia. As years passed by, I tried challenging myself on having a goal on the number of books I read per year based on certain topics and that's how I came across 'The White Tiger' by Aravind Adiga which came under the topic 'A book narrated through Letters/Mails'. I did try to procrastinate the book but the inevitable had to happen.

Lo and Behold! The book turned out to be a surprisingly interesting read and honestly I didn't regret reading it even a bit. This prompted me to go for another book of his 'The Selection Day'. Though I must admit, I had bought the book on kindle for the sole reason that it was available at a very cheap price on Amazon and there was a miniseries on Netflix that was commissioned based on the book that made me read it.

The book tries to garner on the popularity of Cricket across the country and as the book kept on progressing there was no doubt that the book will not find much appeal outside the Indian Subcontinent. The book revolves around three main characters - Mohan Kumar and his two sons Radha Krishna and Manjunath and how Cricket revolved around their daily lives.

In short, the book talks about Mohan Kumar, a single parent who wanted his sons to grow big in the game of Cricket. The struggle the father goes through in the slums of Dahisar, till the talent of his kids are discovered by a coach who calls himself Tommy Sir. The protagonists are then trained and sponsored by Anand Mehta who takes deep interest in the boys which forms the rest of the story till the Selection Day which basically is the day the father wants his sons to shine so that they get selected for U-19 Team.

The high points about the book: The book is based in the roots of India and hence finds appeal to a large amount of audience. The transition of the protagonist during their adolescent years and how they cope up with peer pressure, life changing decisions and also their sexuality is very well put up in the book. The book has been written in quite a simple language and hence makes up for an interesting light read.

What's wrong with the book: The book seems to have lost its plot during the last quarter of the book. From a book with a high adrenaline rush in the first half of the book, it went downhill faster than a ball coming back to ground after reaching its high. The abrupt end is sure to irk a lot of readers since one just could not make out clearly on the various decisions the protagonists made. Also, the loss of focus on all the supporting characters during the last part just felt unjust.

My take on the book, go for it if you are planning to relax your mind and would love to have a light read. A book based read while travelling and can be finished in 3-4 sittings.

Rating - 🌟🌟🌟 of 5

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