>Last Man in Tower

fiction

by admin | on September 19th, 2011 | 1 comment

Author: Aravind Adiga

Price: INR 699/- (Avlbl for 419/- @ Flipkart)

Publisher: Fourth Estate (Harper Collins)

Format: Royal Hardback

Set in Mumbai Last Man in Tower is the story of the residents of Vishram Tower in Vakola. It is supposed to be the oldest building in the area and is referred to as “the pukka one”. The residents are a strange mix of an old couple, a real estate agent, a cyber café owner, few retired couples, a family with a son suffering from Downs’s syndrome et al. They have always been there for each other, so, when the renowned builder Mr. Shah puts up a very attractive & irresistible offer to buy them out, the residents assume that everyone in the building would agree to it and thus they will live a better life.

But the Pinto’s resist the offer because Mrs. Pinto a blind lady has always lived in this building and knows it like the back of hand and she couldn’t think of moving out of this place. It was then that Masterji, their closest friend in the building decides to support them.

When he refused the lucrative offer from Shah Builders he thought he was doing the right thing & was standing up for his friends. Even his neighbor & his big admirer Mrs. Patel felt that Masterji was doing the most gentlemanly thing. What he didn’t know was he was letting himself into a game where friends become enemies and life becomes a dirty game of greed & politics.

Read the book to know more about the human greed & to the extent it can go.

My verdict

If I could get away with it I would just say

“Worth every penny, no more explanation needed, go grab a copy & finish it one read” but then this book deserves a better review.

Set in the contemporary Mumbai where space is a constraint and old buildings are paving way for new buildings, Last Man in Tower shows us the mirror. A well written & well-crafted book, the author brings us face to face with characters which are out of our own lives. He very deftly shows us how we are bound by our principles & greed. Bound by principles because we in our heart know what is right but our practical side also knows what is needed to survive and ultimately who wins of the two decides how good a human being you are.

The author has spent good time creating characters and that’s the very reason that they derive empathy & hatred out of us. He succeeds in reiterating that black or white doesn’t exist, it is grey which dominates our lives. When one by one the so called friends of Masterji start giving in to the offer you are unable to decide who is right & who is wrong. But yes what one can clearly conclude is that human mind has no limits, it can stoop down to any level if it sets its mind to a thing and most innocent looking people too can commit crime if they are ruled by greed. Another thing that I loved about the book was the underlying message of “you cannot run away from your crime, ultimately either your conscience will eat you or the circumstances will punish you.”

The book grips you from the beginning, slowly creeping upon you and the scariest part is when his erstwhile friends start plotting against Masterji. My heart went out for him when he is boycotted by everyone. The author very deftly builds towards the climax bringing it to a point that it will hit you where it matters.

A must read book about greed, principles, of people who have principles and will go to any extent to protect them, of people who have no principles and will go to any extent to achieve what they want. A book which shows us the nasty side of real estate; a side which we don’t even think about while searching for our dream home.

Rating 4.5/5

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