''Between the Assassinations'' is a 2008 collection of short stories written by
Aravind Adiga. It was published by
Picador
A ''picador'' (; pl. ''picadores'') is one of the pair of horse-mounted bullfighters in a Spanish-style bullfight that jab the bull with a lance. They perform in the ''tercio de varas'', which is the first of the three stages in a stylized bull ...
in India in 2008, and in Britain and the United States in 2009. While it reveals the beauty of the rural, coastal south where it is set, its subject is the pathos, injustices and ironies of Indian life.
[ This book is discussed on pages 120-123.][
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It was Adiga's second published book, though it was either written before his first, ''
The White Tiger'',
[ or written in parallel with ''The White Tiger''.][ The title refers to the period between the ]assassination of Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister of India, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her 7 RCR, residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh (assassin), Be ...
in 1984 and the assassination of her son, Rajiv Gandhi, in 1991.[ ]Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
was the serving Prime Minister of India
The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
when she was assassinated; Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...
became Prime Minister in 1984, and left office following his party's defeat in the 1989 general election.
Overview
The stories take place in the fictitious town of Kittur in Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
, Southwest India. It was originally modeled on Adiga's hometown of Mangalore
Mangaluru (), formerly called Mangalore ( ), is a major industrial port city in the Indian state of Karnataka and on the west coast of India. It is located between the Laccadive Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bengaluru, the st ...
but was substantially changed to make room for more diverse plots and characters. The stories revolve around different classes, castes and religions in India. In each story, another set of characters is introduced, but places and names appear again in other stories.
Even though it was published after '' The White Tiger'', ''Between the Assassinations'' was started—and most likely finished—before ''The White Tiger''. The servant who is tempted to run away with his master's money, the village hick sent to town, Nepali guards and a hit-and-run accident by a rich man, which is subsequently covered up by corrupt policemen, all appear in ''Between the Assassinations'' as well as in ''The White Tiger''
Further reading
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References
{{reflist
External links
Adiga pens a new plot, focusses on new India again
IBN. 2008.
Taking Heart From The Darkness
Essay by Aravind Adiga. Tehelka Magazine. 2008.
Books by Aravind Adiga
2008 short story collections
Karnataka in fiction
Novels set in the 1980s