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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Searing. Explosive. Lyrical. Compassionate. Here is the astonishing new novel by the Man Booker Prize-winning author of The White Tiger, a book that took rage and anger at injustice and turned it into a thrilling murder story. Now, with the same fearlessness and insight, Aravind Adiga broadens his canvas to give us a riveting story of money and power, luxury and deprivation, set in the booming city of Mumbai.
At the heart of this novel are two equally compelling men, poised for a showdown. Real estate developer Dharmen Shah rose from nothing to create an empire and hopes to seal his legacy with a building named the Shanghai, which promises to be one of the city's most elite addresses. Larger-than-life Shah is a dangerous man to refuse. But he meets his match in a retired schoolteacher called Masterji. Shah offers Masterji and his neighbors—the residents of Vishram Society's Tower A, a once respectable, now crumbling apartment building on whose site Shah's luxury high-rise would be built—a generous buyout. They can't believe their good fortune. Except, that is, for Masterji, who refuses to abandon the building he has long called home. As the demolition deadline looms, desires mount; neighbors become enemies, and acquaintances turn into conspirators who risk losing their humanity to score their payday.
Here is a richly told, suspense-fueled story of ordinary people pushed to their limits in a place that knows none: the new India as only Aravind Adiga could explore—and expose—it. Vivid, visceral, told with both humor and poignancy, Last Man in Tower is his most stunning work yet.' (Publisher's blurb)
At the heart of this novel are two equally compelling men, poised for a showdown. Real estate developer Dharmen Shah rose from nothing to create an empire and hopes to seal his legacy with a building named the Shanghai, which promises to be one of the city's most elite addresses. Larger-than-life Shah is a dangerous man to refuse. But he meets his match in a retired schoolteacher called Masterji. Shah offers Masterji and his neighbors—the residents of Vishram Society's Tower A, a once respectable, now crumbling apartment building on whose site Shah's luxury high-rise would be built—a generous buyout. They can't believe their good fortune. Except, that is, for Masterji, who refuses to abandon the building he has long called home. As the demolition deadline looms, desires mount; neighbors become enemies, and acquaintances turn into conspirators who risk losing their humanity to score their payday.
Here is a richly told, suspense-fueled story of ordinary people pushed to their limits in a place that knows none: the new India as only Aravind Adiga could explore—and expose—it. Vivid, visceral, told with both humor and poignancy, Last Man in Tower is his most stunning work yet.' (Publisher's blurb)
Notes
-
Longlisted for the 2013 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Also large print.
- Sound recording.
Works about this Work
-
Review : Last Man in Tower
2012
single work
review
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , February 2012;
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
[Review] Last Man in Tower
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Publisher's Weekly , 25 July vol. 258 no. 30 2011;
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
[Review] Last Man in Tower
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Library Journal , 1 September vol. 136 no. 14 2011; (p. 95)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
[Review] Last Man in Tower
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Kirkus Reviews , 15 August vol. 79 no. 16 2011; (p. 1401)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
[Review] Last Man in Tower
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: Booklist , 1 September vol. 108 no. 1 2011; (p. 42)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel
-
After Midnight, Madness in Mumbai
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4 - 5 June 2011; (p. 18-19)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Noble Struggle Amid the Desperate
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25 June 2011; (p. 29)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Review of the Week
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sunday Age , 26 June 2011; (p. 20)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
The Dickens of Mumbai
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 9 - 10 July 2011; (p. 34-35)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel -
Holding Out
2011
single work
review
— Appears in: The Times Literary Supplement , 22 July no. 5651 2011; (p. 21)
— Review of Last Man in Tower : A Novel 2011 single work novel
Last amended 2 Feb 2021 15:16:57
Settings:
-
Mumbai,
cIndia,cSouth Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
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