Selection Day is about an Indian cricketing prodigy who is growing up under his father's obsessive pressure to become the next Sachin Tendulkar, while also coming to terms with his doubts about his sexuality. In a country that worships cricketers and reviles homosexuals, the dilemma that Adiga poses for young Manju is an interesting one.

Unfortunately Adiga never manages to make Manju into a truly empathetic character, and his brother Radha is also unappealing. Manju's friend Javed, his father, potential girlfriend, coach and commercial sponsor are also all pretty unlikeable. The problem at the heart of this book is that none of the main characters really win the reader over.

You'd also really have to be well into cricket to even understand this book, which I am, but I didn't like it nearly as much as another cricketing tale about two brothers, The Rules of Backyard Cricket. ( )

Aravind Adiga wrote two masterpieces: "The White Tiger" and "Last Man in Tower." I will never forget either for their tension, characters, and storytelling. His other novels and non-fiction have been compelling as well. Unfortunately, I think I will forget "Selection Day."

It is the story of two boys destined for cricket greatness, pushed on by their obsessive father. Both boys are new to the city and struggling to figure out social, academic, and sporting life. There narrative is normally quick and well-paced, but there are several times where critical plot-points are barely mentioned, causing me to think I misread or perhaps lost my bookmark.

By the middle of the book, the ending was perhaps a bit predictable and a five page addendum added nothing. The glossary of cricket terms revealed that "Selection Day" was something of a romance for Adiga. He clearly loves the sport. I wonder if he wanted to write a book about cricket instead of a book about characters.

Reviews of Adiga work always mention the urban setting and the graphic depictions of Mumbai. That is true here, but I wonder if these mentions are more the result of Western readers like me being unfamiliar with the city and given easy but understandable descriptions the rich-poor divide.

Despite swinging and missing on this book, Adiga's centuries are already in the record books. ( )

Eine lose Abfolge von Anekdoten, in einem Stück gehalten durch die Geschichte einer Familie, deren zwei Söhne mithilfe von Cricket den Slums von Mumbai entfliehen (sollen). Ein Meisterstück der Erzählkunst, in einer entwaffnend herzlichen und kindlich naiven Sprache. Themen wie Bisexualität, Kasten, Jugendträume und die Kultur einer Nation, die von ihrer Vielfalt erdrückt wird, vermittelt Adiga mit Worten, die den Gerüchen, den Sehnsüchten und den Nöten einer ganzen Kultur Ausdruck verleihen. Nicht zu verkennen ist auch das Fortkommen von Adiga selbst, der vom Inder zum Weltmann wurde. Für mich persönlich einer der ganz grossen kontemporären Autoren. ( )

Urgh another book in which a gay character ends up unhappy & alone and in this case, he metaphorically castrates himself by choosing cricket over love for fear of being called gay. It's little wonder I stopped reading this type of fiction many years ago. Even in 2016 gay men are depicted as dysfunctional and alone. ( )

Aravind Adiga shows us the world of cricket, tense family relationships, and sexuality in coming of age. It's an interesting book that occasionally loses focus or needs to focus on a simpler plot. ( )