Slumdog Millionaire

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER

The prize-winning novel that inspired the acclaimed film Slumdog Millionaire: winner of eight Academy Awards—including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay

Ram Mohammad Thomas has been arrested on suspicion of fraud for answering all twelve questions correctly on TV’s Who Will Win a Billion? Ram has never gone to school. He has never read a newspaper. There is no way a poor orphan from Jimmy’s Bar could know the names of the planets or the plays of Shakespeare . . . unless he has cheated. Rescued from his police cell by a lawyer, Ram reviews television footage of his flawless performance and takes us on an amazing tour of his life growing up in Asia’s biggest slum—from the day he is salvaged from a garbage can to his job with a faded Bollywood star, to working as an overly imaginative tour guide at the Taj Mahal, to falling in love with Nita, a young prostitute. A brilliantly conceived fable with a modern sensibility, Slumdog Millionaire is a comic and charming novel that paints an enthralling portrait of humanity.

Critical Praise

“Fun, intelligent and leaves you wanting more.” -Toronto Star

“A dream of a book.” -Winnipeg Free Press

“This brilliant story, as colossal, vibrant and chaotic as India itself . . . it is not to be missed.” - The Observer

“A rare, seemingly effortless brew of humour, drama, romance and social realism. . . . Swarup has achieved a triumph with this thrilling, endearing work which gets into the heart and soul of modern India.” - New Zealand Herald

“Swarup is an accomplished storyteller, and [Slumdog Millionaire] has all the immediacy and impact of an oral account.” -Daily Mail

“Mingling broad humour with incisive social comment . . . absorbing and richly entertaining reading.” - The Times

“This lively picaresque novel has an original and telling premise . . . a colourful portrait of Indian society is painted with remarkable lightness and wit.” - Sunday Telegraph

“A hugely successful mixture of satire and intrigue.” - Independent on Sunday

“Sweet, sorrowful and funny. An enchanting tale.” -The Sunday Tribune (India)

“This page-turning novel reels from farce to melodrama to fairy tale.” - You Magazine

“A very clever story told very cleverly and at a relentless pace.” - Sydney Morning Herald

“Poignant, funny, rich . . . with an utterly original and brilliant structure at its heart.” - Meg Rosoff, author of How I Live Now

“That rare novel that chugs along on the parallel tracks of being a rollicking read as well as being a polished, varnished, finished work of impressive craftsmanship.” - Hindustan Times