the Elephant

A new short story by the author of The White Tiger is in this week's New Yorker, and The Elephant continues Adiga's exploration of the cycle of poverty the caste system of India perpetuates. The main character of this story, Chenayya, is a cart-puller for Ganesh Pai Fan and Furniture store who tortures himself with shame and anger over his inability to rise above his circumstances: he was born poor. Chenayya tries all manner of options to overcome, including old fashioned hard work, the lottery, getting a factory job, and working to get Muslims elected. At every turn he is thwarted, and his anger mounts. Note, this short story has no official cover art or ISBN.