Reading novels in the business classroom has been promoted as way to better understand human behavior and explore business issues in a globalized society. For example, students at the Pace University business school in NYC read the novel "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri to explore immigration and adaptation to new cultures (BizEd, Nov/Dec 2007, p. 12).
I just read the novel, The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and would highly recommend it for recreational reading or in the classroom. It's the story of self-proclaimed business entrepreneur Balram Halwai, born in the poorest "darkness" of India, and his rise to success. From the front cover: "Balram's eyes penetrate India as few outsiders can: the cockroaches and the call centers; the prostitutes and the worshippers; the ancient and Internet cultures; the water buffalo and, trapped in so many kinds of cages that escape is (almost) impossible, the white tiger..." This book is a must-read for anyone doing business in India and a powerful story for those seeking to better understand poverty, morality, and the new globalized world cultures.
We have a copy of the book in our Recreational Reading collection (shelved by author) on the first floor of the USFSP library (PR9619.4 .A35 W47 2008).
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I bought this novel based on your reader's advisory. It's currently featured at the fine independent bookseller in Tampa - Inkwood Books at 216 S. Armenia Ave. The White Tiger is the fifth book displayed at their link below, including a review from a Vermont bookshopkeeper who's "just too amazed for words." http://www.inkwoodbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=titles
More importantly, as USF faculty recently shared with readers, 2008 Census Bureau data show literature is in vogue with American people:
“For the first time in more than 25 years, American adults are reading more literature, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts. Reading on the Rise documents a definitive increase in rates and numbers of American adults who read literature, with the biggest increases among young adults, ages 18-24. This new growth reverses two decades of downward trends cited previously in NEA reports such as Reading at Risk and To Read or Not To Read.” http://librarian.lishost.org/?p=1980
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