Slumdog Millionaire

Starred review from August 1, 2005
This production gains much from Shale's excellent and lively performance. The text could easily have been overdone but Shale makes it sincere, hilarious, heartbreaking and delightful. Ram Muhammad Thomas—a young orphan with no formal education—correctly answers all 12 questions on Who Wants to Win a Billion?
and is arrested and jailed when the unscrupulous quiz-show producers, reluctant to pay out the winnings, accuse him of cheating. In order to prove his innocence, he recounts his life story in 12 interludes, each eventually explaining the extraordinary circumstances that taught him one of the answers. Ram's life, full of horrors, becomes an allegory for all the problems of the lower classes in India, and the fantastic situations that lead him to win the quiz show take on mythic proportions. Ram's appeal lies in his childlike openness and wonder, and that of the story lies in hearing a full life unwind from the tiniest of details. Each tale is peopled by memorable characters—some recurring—and Shale gives each a distinct voice. His gifted reading, full of emphasis, inflection and excitement, is a joy to listen to. Simultaneous release with the Scribner hardcover (Reviews, July 11).

Ram Mohammad Thomas, an Indian Everyman, is an uneducated waiter who wins a billion rupees on a popular TV quiz show. After he wins, he's arrested and brutally interrogated because the authorities believe he cheated. As Ram details the events of his life, each vignette provides clues to his ability to answer the many obscure questions. Vikas Swarup's novel, originally titled Q & A, has more substance, more characters, and more drama than the Oscar-winning film made from it. Christopher Simpson's superb performance shows remarkable facility with accents. He highlights character traits and flaws, showing particular deftness with one character's speech impediment. Simpson ratchets up the level of intensity, etching enduring portraits of real people, making every meticulously recounted moment engaging, convincing, and riveting. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

April 27, 2009
After enduring a childhood of poverty, violence and exploitation, Ram Muhammad Thomas wins a game show prize of one billion rupees. But the producers believe he has cheated and send him to the police to coerce a confession. Now, Thomas must defend his achievement and explain how a nobody without formal education won against impossible odds. Christopher Simpson's performance is both compelling and questionable; he conveys emotion powerfully but his mimicry of an Indian accent might make some listeners uncomfortable and sap the authority of the first-person narrative. Fans of the Academy Award–winning film adaptation of the novel (originally published as Q&A
) will find that this version offers nuanced pleasures of its own. A Scribner hardcover.