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reydeam's review against another edition
3.0
“Exactly. It’s my lucky coin. But as I said, luck has got nothing to do with it....Luck comes from within.”
I picked up Slumdog Millionaire on a whim. I wanted an audiobook to listen to while I went for a walk with the intention of listening for that one walk only. I wasn’t expecting much. That intention turned into the listening of the entire book within a week. The story immediately captured me.
Slumdog Millionaire was highly entertaining. Ram’s stories were full of drama, escapes, love interest, brutality, poverty, cleverness and street smarts. Ram treated others with compassion and kindness. Many times, he gave to others at his own expense. The level of poverty struck me; the marginalized are often disregarded. I gained a different perspective. Through Ram’s voice, India came to life for me.
Despite that fact that Ram’s stories captivated me, I did not connect with him. I felt more for those in his stories, but even that, not much. I felt the most for the general infliction of living in poverty than an actual character. For most of the story I felt ambivalent. The ending changed the ambivalence into an admiration for Ram and his journey.
Side note: the narrator for the audiobook, Christopher Simpson, did his job well. A narrator can make or break a story regardless of how well written a story is. He made the story.
Rating: 3.5 stars
I picked up Slumdog Millionaire on a whim. I wanted an audiobook to listen to while I went for a walk with the intention of listening for that one walk only. I wasn’t expecting much. That intention turned into the listening of the entire book within a week. The story immediately captured me.
Slumdog Millionaire was highly entertaining. Ram’s stories were full of drama, escapes, love interest, brutality, poverty, cleverness and street smarts. Ram treated others with compassion and kindness. Many times, he gave to others at his own expense. The level of poverty struck me; the marginalized are often disregarded. I gained a different perspective. Through Ram’s voice, India came to life for me.
Despite that fact that Ram’s stories captivated me, I did not connect with him. I felt more for those in his stories, but even that, not much. I felt the most for the general infliction of living in poverty than an actual character. For most of the story I felt ambivalent. The ending changed the ambivalence into an admiration for Ram and his journey.
Side note: the narrator for the audiobook, Christopher Simpson, did his job well. A narrator can make or break a story regardless of how well written a story is. He made the story.
Rating: 3.5 stars
trin's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. Simon Beaufoy really deserved that Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar. I didn’t think that Slumdog Millionaire was the Best Movie EVAR! as some people seem to, but the book is just awful. Scattered and poorly written, with a narrative that relies on more farfetched coincidences than a cracked-out [a:Dickens|239579|Charles Dickens|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1183239979p2/239579.jpg] novel, Q&A also manages to make its protagonist completely unsympathetic, and its romance entirely unromantic. Oh, and the whole thing—the first few chapters especially—is cringingly homophobic. If you loved Slumdog, this will merely taint your appreciation of it. Though I guess it’s interesting to see how the same concept can be taken in two wildly different directions—one that’ll make people hand out Oscars, and one that’ll make them want to mimic Oscar the Grouch.
chroniclesofrosie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
kingkorok's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
This book was fine. I liked the end, when I finally got to experience enough of the protagonist's emotional state to really begin to identify with him & care for how he turned out in the end. But the book itself is held together with what is in my view a pretty flimsy & arbitrary premise (game show) to link a number of short plot points that I didn't find too enthralling for the first 3/4 of the book. The prose was very direct and matter-of-fact, which is not always to my taste. Near the end I started to appreciate the simplicity of the language in contrast to the graphic hardness of poverty in India. idk I guess I see why it's popular but it wasn't for me
wallen's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
charlottan_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jennrocca's review against another edition
5.0
Some of the reviews made me feel unsure that I would like this book. It. Was. Awesome. The story was fantastic. Intricate. Detailed. Beautiful. I can't wait to see the movie... but it's hard to imagine it can live up to this story line.
widderwille's review against another edition
4.0
so i knew about the film for a reeeaaalllyyyy long time because my mother told me about it when i was younger. she did tell me that the film is kind of disturbing because it shows the life of the main-character and after reading the book (have still not seen the film) i understand where she is coming from. the idea of this book is thought out so well in terms of how to tell the reader about it. so i really really enjoyed it
sallyan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25