There is much to commend in this novel, a witty parable of India's changing society, yet there is much to ponder. He happily abuses religious foibles and hatreds of others where it suits, dispatching a rival driver to destitution via a little anti-Muslim prejudice. He has the voice of what may, or may not, be a new India: quick-witted, half-baked, self-mocking, and quick to seize an advantage. He gets a lucky break when he learns to handle a car, then lands a job as driver for a landlord from his village. This is because he, along with most lowly Indians, inhabits the Darkness, a place where basic necessities are routinely snatched by the wealthy, who live in the Light. His disrespect for his elders and betters is shocking - even Mahatma Gandhi gets the lash of his scornful tongue.īalram has worked out early in life that good deeds usually have awful consequences.
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