In a logical, clear-thinking, pre-911 world Boy Hernandez would be madly filling orders with his newly established women’s fashion line, (B)oy for Bergdorf-Goodman, Bloomingdale’s and other trend setting hotspots. But in this post-911 world of fast and at times, sloppy security work, Boy’s been thrown into Gitmo for allegedly assisting terrorists by funneling money through his clothing design studio. HA!
Balram Halwai is a complicated man. Servant. Philosopher. Entrepreneur. Murderer. Over the course of seven nights, by the scattered light of a preposterous chandelier, Balram tells us the terrible and transfixing story of how he came to be a success in life -- having nothing but his own wits to help him along.
Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger.