Last Man in Tower

(Paperback, Main)

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Description

21st Century Mumbai is a city of new money and soaring real estate, and property kingpin Dharmen Shah has grand plans for its future. His offer to buy and tear down a weathered tower block, making way for luxury apartments, will make each of its residents rich - if all agree to sell. But not everyone wants to leave; many of the residents have lived there for a lifetime, many of them are no longer young. As tensions rise among the once civil neighbours, one by one those who oppose the offer give way to the majority, until only one man stands in Shah's way: Masterji, a retired schoolteacher, 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.

Reviews

Praise for "Last Man in Tower"
"Formally daring, panoramic in sweep, and fearless in its forays into disparate characters, not the least being Bombay, city of sensual amplitude. . . . Equally stunning is the melancholy that underlies the narrative bustle, and the many moments of sweetness. Adiga's voice, an arresting blend of angry advocacy and mature wisdom, is fully formed."
"--National Post"

"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. . . . Just brilliant."
""--"USA Today"
"A masterful storyteller. . ."
"--Toronto Star"

"Last Man in Tower pulls off the bravura twin role of moral parable and human drama."
--"The Gazette" (Montreal)

"He clearly has a knack for arresting novels that marry story and social commentary. . . . Adiga's story of the man who can't be bought is compelling."
--"Winnipeg Free Press"

"Funny, provocative and decadent: Aravind Adiga's Last Man in Tower is the kind of novel that's so richly insightful about business and character that it's hard to know where to begin singing its praises."
--"The Washington Post"

"Retains The White Tiger's dynamism. . . . by turns fascinating, sensual and horrifying, as [Aravind Adiga's] writing takes an impressive step onwards."
"--The Independent" (UK)

"Rich and lush."
"--The""Telegraph" (UK)

"[Last Man in Tower] goes the distance. . . .In this complex and multi-layered novel, [Adiga] continues his project of shining a light on the changing face of India, bringing us a picture that is as compelling as it is complex. . ."
"-- Alex Clark, The Guardian "(UK)

"Mr. 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. A rare achievement." --"The Economist
"
"Epic. . . .Last Man in Tower is like a prime-time soap opera with a social conscience. Dickens has found an heir."
--"The Sunday Business Post
"
"This writing is sheer beauty."
--"New Zealand Herald
"
"Last Man in Tower vibrates with energy and ideas, with anger and with life. [Adiga's] writing has been labelled Dickensian."
"--New Zealand Listener"


"From the Hardcover edition."

Author Bio

Aravind Adiga was born in Madras in 1974. He studied at Columbia and Oxford universities. A former India correspondent for Time magazine, his articles have also appeared in publications including the Financial Times, Independent and the Sunday Times. His first novel, The White Tiger, won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, as was his short-story collection Between the Assassinations (2009).