Buck on Film

I Read the Movie
A Review by Reeta Sinha, Sr. CD Manager, West

Q & A
•    AUTHOR: Vikas Swarup
•    PUBLISHER: Scribner
•    CONTENT LEVEL: ADV-AC
•    $25.00 Cloth (318 p.)
•    ISBN-13: 9780743267472
•    B&T   •    YBP   

What are the odds?

A young man, born in the largest slum in Asia and raised in the gutters and alleyways of Mumbai, possessing a degree in street smarts winds up as a contestant on an Indian TV quiz show and he wins a billion rupees after answering all of the questions correctly.

What are the odds? They're probably the same as the odds of a small film called Slumdog Millionaire being named the best picture of the year, but it happened. The movie, based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup, has won numerous awards, including the Critics Choice and Golden Globe for best movie this year.

Although overshadowed by the success of the film, Q & A deserves praise of its own. Published in 2005, it is Swarup's first novel and has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Q & A tells the story of Ram Mohammad Thomas who has been arrested after his appearance on Who Will Win a Billion?, a quiz show modeled after the Indian edition of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Ram's crime? Cheating. How else could an uneducated kid from the slums know the answers? As the novel progresses Ram explains to the lawyer he has been assigned how he knew the answers so she can prove he didn't cheat. Chapter after chapter, one question after another, from 1,000 rupees to 1,000,000,000 rupees, we learn about 18-year-old Ram, how his life experiences and the people he has met helped him win.

Abandoned as a child, first by his mother and then by his adoptive parents, it's a miracle Ram has survived at all. While other children went to school and played, he witnessed abuse of all kinds, committed murder, and escaped, sometimes into the slums, or on trains that took him to faraway cities, or to a better life-the kind they showed in Bollywood movies. But, Ram also fell in love, learned to speak English from a priest who took him in, and he listened, soaking up GK, (general knowledge) like a sponge. He may not know the capital of the US, but he knows who invented the revolver. When you shoot someone for the first time you notice things, like the word "Colt" engraved on the handle of the gun.

Swarup doesn't spare the reader. There is no sugarcoating the filth of Mumbai's slums, the exploitation of the city's street kids, or police brutality. The details aren't included gratuitously, though, as sometimes happens in Indian fiction written for English-speaking readers. In an interview, though, Swarup has said he wasn't writing for a western audience-the novel is an Indian story with Indian characters. Personally, I felt Q & A tells it like it is, what life is like for an alarming number of people in India's metros. I may not be able to identify with Ram but I recognize the kind of people he has met, whether on trains or when visiting tourist spots, or when traveling from one part of Delhi or Mumbai to another. I was also struck by Swarup's ability to convey the spirit and pragmatism that enables kids like Ram and, indeed, so many of India's poor to survive against all the odds. Swarup also has a keen eye for life in contemporary India and its contradictions, such as Mumbai's high-rises among the slums (or is it the other way around?).

Granted, it's a stretch, the storyline of a street kid even getting on a nationally televised quiz show, let alone winning the ultimate prize. But, a kid's got to have dreams, right?

Please check Title Source for the DVD of Slumdog Millionaire which is in theaters now.

Many movies were released in 2008 that were based on books. You can find a list below of books that were made into films in 2008. Among the books that were made into movies is Q&A which was made into Slumdog Millionaire, a film which has won a number of awards including four Golden Globes. How will it do at the Oscars?

AND WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
•    AUTHOR: MORRISON, BLAKE.
•    PUBLISHER: PICADOR
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $12.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780312142735
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781435918344
•    B&T

BABYLON BABIES
•    AUTHOR: DANTEC, MAURICE G.
•    PUBLISHER: SEMIOTEXT
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $19.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781584350231
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BABYLON A.D.
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312602590
•    B&T

BLINDNESS
•    AUTHOR: SARAMAGO, JOSE.
•    PUBLISHER: HARCOURT
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $15.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780156035583
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BLINDNESS
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9780788892424
•    B&T

BODY OF LIES: A NOVEL
•    AUTHOR: IGNATIUS, DAVID.
•    PUBLISHER: W.W. NORTON
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $24.95 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9780393065039
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BODY OF LIES
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312692911
•    B&T

BOY A
•    AUTHOR: TRIGELL, JONATHAN.
•    PUBLISHER: SERPENT'S TAIL
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $14.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781846686627
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BOY A
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312294061
•    B&T

BRICK LANE
•    AUTHOR: ALI, MONICA.
•    PUBLISHER:
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $15.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781416584070
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BRICK LANE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781435918436
•    B&T

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
•    AUTHOR: WAUGH, EVELYN.
•    PUBLISHER: ALFRED A. KNOPF
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $18.00 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9780307269966
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: BRIDESHEAD REVISITED
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9780788886584
•    B&T

BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE: HOW SIX STUDENTS TOOK VEGAS FOR MILLIONS
•    AUTHOR: MEZRICH, BEN.
•    PUBLISHER: ARROW
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $17.15 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780099468233
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: 21
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781435924390
•    B&T

CHOKE
•    AUTHOR: PALAHNIUK, CHUCK.
•    PUBLISHER: ANCHOR
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $14.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780307388926
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: CHOKE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312705598
•    B&T

FIVE ROUNDABOUTS TO HEAVEN
•    AUTHOR: BINGHAM, JOHN.
•    PUBLISHER: SIMON & SCHUSTER
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $13.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781416540441
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: MARRIED LIFE.
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781435914537
•    B&T

GEORGIANA, DUCHESS OF DEVONSHIRE
•    AUTHOR: FOREMAN, AMANDA.
•    PUBLISHER: RANDOM HOUSE
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $15.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780375753831
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: DUCHESS
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312583974
•    B&T

HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
•    AUTHOR: YOUNG, TOBY.
•    PUBLISHER: DA CAPO
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $14.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780306816130
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS AND ALIENATE PEOPLE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312717751
•    B&T

LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
•    AUTHOR: KASISCHKE, LAURA.
•    PUBLISHER: HARCOURT
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $14.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780156027120
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312113300
•    B&T

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
•    AUTHOR: MCBRIDE, JAMES.
•    PUBLISHER: RIVERHEAD BOOKS
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $15.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781594483608
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9780788892486
•    B&T

MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY
•    AUTHOR: WATSON, WINIFRED.
•    PUBLISHER: PERSEPHONE BOOKS
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $15.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781906462024
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312108849
•    B&T

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
•    AUTHOR: SPARKS, NICHOLAS.
•    PUBLISHER: WARNER
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $13.99 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780446691796
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: NIGHTS IN RODANTHE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312646143
•    B&T

OTHER BOLEYN GIRL: A NOVEL
•    AUTHOR: GREGORY, PHILIPPA.
•    PUBLISHER: SIMON & SCHUSTER
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $16.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780743227445
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: OTHER BOLEYN GIRL
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781424872633
•    B&T

RUINS: A NOVEL
•    AUTHOR: SMITH, SCOTT.
•    PUBLISHER: ALFRED A. KNOPF
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $24.95 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9781400043873
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: RUINS
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312120889
•    B&T

SAVAGE GRACE: THE TRUE STORY OF FATAL RELATIONS IN A RICH AND FAMOUS AMERICAN FAMILY
•    AUTHOR: ROBINS, NATALIE S.
•    PUBLISHER: TOUCHSTONE BOOKS
•    CONTENT LEVEL: POP
•    $15.95 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781416571100
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: SAVAGE GRACE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312448372
•    B&T

SECRET LIFE OF BEES
•    AUTHOR: KIDD, SUE MONK.
•    PUBLISHER: VIKING
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $24.95 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9780670894604
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: SECRET LIFE OF BEES
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312696049
•    B&T

SNOW ANGELS
•    AUTHOR: O'NAN, STEWART.
•    PUBLISHER: PICADOR
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $14.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9780312427696
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: SNOW ANGELS
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312402138
•    B&T

THEN SHE FOUND ME
•    AUTHOR: LIPMAN, ELINOR.
•    PUBLISHER: SIMON & SCHUSTER
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $14.00 PAPER
•    ISBN-13: 9781416589938
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: THEN SHE FOUND ME
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312264996
•    B&T

TOWELHEAD: A NOVEL
•    AUTHOR: ERIAN, ALICIA.
•    PUBLISHER: SIMON & SCHUSTER
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $22.00 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9780743244947
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: TOWELHEAD
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9786312609353
•    B&T

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
•    AUTHOR: GOUREVITCH, PHILIP.
•    PUBLISHER: PENGUIN
•    CONTENT LEVEL: GEN-AC
•    $25.95 CLOTH
•    ISBN-13: 9781594201325
•    B&T   •    MAJORS   •    YBP   
DVD TITLE: STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
•    FORMAT: DVD
•    ISBN-13: 9781435918375
•    B&T