Last Man in Tower - Aravind Adiga [0]
Copyright © 2011 by Aravind Adiga
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.aaknopf.com
Originally published in hardcover in Great Britain by Atlantic Books, an imprint of Atlantic Books Ltd., London.
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
A portion of this work originally appeared in Granta magazine (February 2011).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Adiga, Aravind.
Last man in tower : a novel / Aravind Adiga.—1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-70040-7
1. Apartment dwellers—India—Fiction. 2. Apartment houses—India—Fiction. 3. Real estate developers—India—Fiction. 4. Social conflict—India—Fiction. I. Title.
PR9619.4.A35L37 2011
823’.92—dc22 2011003406
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design by Barbara de Wilde and Loïc Romer
First United States Edition
v3.1
To my fellow commuters on the Santa Cruz–Churchgate local line
A NOTE ON MONEY
A lakh is 100,000 rupees, about $2,200.
A crore is 10,000,000 rupees, equivalent to about $220,000.
So Mr. Shah’s offer to the members of Vishram Society would translate into a typical windfall of about $330,000 per family.
The average per capita annual income in India in 2008–2009 was 37,490 rupees, about $800.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
A Note on Money
Plan of Vishram Society (Tower A)
Introduction
Book One
11 May
12 May
13 May
Book Two
14 May
18 May
Book Three
4 June
Book Four
19 June
20 June
21 June
25 June
29 June
Book Five
3 July
6 July
Book Six
15 July
21 July
23 July
24 July
31 July
1 August
2 August
3 August
6 August
17 August
Book Seven
2 September
3 September
4 September
Book Eight
29 September
30 September
1 October
2 October
3 October
Book Nine
4 October
5 October
7 October
Epilogue
15 December
16 December
23 December
Acknowledgements
Reading Group Guide
A Note About the Author
Also by Aravind Adiga
Plan of Vishram Society (Tower A)
Vakola, Santa Cruz (East), Mumbai—400055
Ground floor:
0A the security guard’s personal room
0B allotted to the Secretary of the Society for official work, with an alcove for the cleaning lady to store her broom, disinfectant, and mopping cloth
0C Felicia Saldanha, 49, and her daughter Radhika, 20; Mr. Saldanha, an engineer, is said to work in Vizag
1st floor:
1A Suresh Nagpal, 54, timber merchant, and wife Mohini, 53
1B Georgina Rego, 48, social worker, and son Sunil, 14, and daughter Sarah, 11
1C C. L. Abichandani, hardware specialist, 56, his wife Kamini, 52, and daughters Kavita, 18, and Roopa, 21
2nd floor:
2A Albert Pinto, 67, retired accountant for the Britannia Biscuit Company, and wife Shelley, 64
2B Deepak Vij, 57, businessman, his wife Shruti, 43, and daughter Shobha, 21
2C Ramesh Ajwani, real-estate broker, 50, his wife Rukmini, 47, and sons Rajeev, 13, and Raghav, 10
3rd floor:
3A Yogesh A. Murthy (known as “Masterji”), retired schoolteacher, 61, now living alone after the recent death of his wife Purnima
3B Given on rent to Ms. Meenakshi, possibly a journalist, single woman of about 25. Owner Shiv Hiranandani (known as “Import-Export”) lives in Khar West
3C Sanjiv Puri, 54, accountant, his wife Sangeeta, 52, and son Ramesh, 18, afflicted with Down’s syndrome
4th floor:
4A Ashvin Kothari, 55, the Secretary of the Society, occupation unknown, his wife Renuka, 49, and son Siddharth (known as “Tinku”), 10
4B George Lobo, 45, respectable chemist, his wife Carmina, 40, and daughter Selma, 19
4C Ibrahim Kudwa, 49, internet-store owner, his wife Mumtaz, 33, and children Mohammad, 10, and