Slumdog Millionaire vs. Q&A

I just finished reading Q&A by Vikas Swarup. The cover calls it "the inspiration for the major motion picture Slumdog Millionaire". When I first picked up the book I wondered at the wording of that claim; books usually say "Now a major motion picture" or something along those lines. However, in this case, nothing else would have been accurate. Q&A was indeed simply the inspiration for Slumdog Millionaire.

The book had the same feel as the movie but it was a completely different story. Only one of the questions in the game show was the same, and only 4 of the characters introduced in the film showed up in the novel (the game show host, the inspector at the beginning, Maman, and of course, the slumdog himself).

In the book, the main character's name is not Jamal. He has no brother. He does not tell his story to a police officer. He doesn't work as a chai wallah. He does not win a measly 20 000 000 rupees. He doesn't get the signature of a famous actor. He does not fall in love with a girl as a child. And he does not go on the show to get her attention.

However, there is much that the main character does do in the book. He experiences great joy and sadness. He witnesses atrocities. He lives in fear. He travels about India. He works at various jobs. He breaks the law. He shows compassion. And he falls in love.

It was truly a different story, and yet the same one. I think I liked Vikas Swarup's sequence of events better than those of Simon Beaufoy, the screenwriter, but both stories moved me. It's not often that I can't put a book down. It's less often that I mention how much I'm enjoying a book at each chapter break. So, I guess I liked it!