If you liked Maggie Gee’s My Driver
and are after further excellent novels that attempt to breach the cultural divide, why not try these:
Aravind Adiga: The White Tiger
In this year’s Booker winner, Aravind Adiga casts a satirical eye over the realities of life amidst India’s booming economy. It’s narrated by the son of a rickshaw-puller who has escaped poverty to work as a driver for a white family. No ordinary rags to riches tale, Adiga offers a very different vision of India from the familiar romantic one.
Kate Grenville: The Lieutenant
The Lieutenant is set during the period of white settlement in Australia. When Daniel Rooke, an English astronomer, sets up an observatory in the New South Wales, he finds himself drawn into conflict. But then Rooke befriends a young aboriginal girl who starts to teach him her language. Based on real events, this is a powerful story detailing an extraordinary friendship.
