‘A tightly written, fast-paced, often sharply savage societal satire… a rollicking read’
Sunday Times
‘An absolute riot – part thriller, part satire of contemporary urban India’
Mail on Sunday
‘Roars will brilliance, freshness and so much heart’
Kevin Kwan
‘Joyous’
The Times
If you’re fat and Indian, you’re rich; if you’re fat and poor, you’re lying. It’s only the West where the rich are thin and vegan and moral…
Ramesh Kumar grew up deprived and unloved, working on his father’s tea stall in the Old City of Delhi. Now, brilliant but poor, he makes a lucrative living taking tests for the sons of India’s elite. When one of his clients, the sweet but hapless eighteen-year-old Rudi Saxena, places first in the All Indias, the national university entrance exams, Ramesh sees an unmissable opportunity.
Cashing in on Rudi’s newfound celebrity, all goes well for both boys for a while. But Rudi’s role on a game show leads the boys through a maze of crimes both large and small, and their dizzying journey reveals an India in all its complexity, beauty and squalor.
Sunday Times
‘An absolute riot – part thriller, part satire of contemporary urban India’
Mail on Sunday
‘Roars will brilliance, freshness and so much heart’
Kevin Kwan
‘Joyous’
The Times
If you’re fat and Indian, you’re rich; if you’re fat and poor, you’re lying. It’s only the West where the rich are thin and vegan and moral…
Ramesh Kumar grew up deprived and unloved, working on his father’s tea stall in the Old City of Delhi. Now, brilliant but poor, he makes a lucrative living taking tests for the sons of India’s elite. When one of his clients, the sweet but hapless eighteen-year-old Rudi Saxena, places first in the All Indias, the national university entrance exams, Ramesh sees an unmissable opportunity.
Cashing in on Rudi’s newfound celebrity, all goes well for both boys for a while. But Rudi’s role on a game show leads the boys through a maze of crimes both large and small, and their dizzying journey reveals an India in all its complexity, beauty and squalor.
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Reviews
Energetic, vivid and funny, Ramesh's narrative voice is magnificent and full of vigour
Intelligent, witty and sublime. I'm hooked. Remember the name. You'll be hearing more of it in future
White Tiger meets Caddyshack the movie in Raina's lively novel, brimming with rat-a-tat-tat wit, breezy prose and a keen observation of colorism, casteism and social inequity. Unputdownable!
Reading How to Kidnap the Rich by Rahul Raina was like being put in a sports car with no seat belt. Rakesh Kumar, the protagonist, gets your attention in minutes . . . How to Kidnap the Rich promises wit, satire, strange twists and will leave you entertained, frantically turning page after page . . . This one's a wild ride
A fun, fast-paced debut...HBO and the Oscar-nominated actor and producer Riz Ahmed have wisely already bought the screen rights to this Delhi-set, society-skewering debut caper...Raina, 28, was inspired to write How to Kidnap the Rich by the US "Varsity Blues" admissions scandal, but it is his depiction of bustling, hustling Delhi and its grafting populace that makes this tightly written, fast-paced, often sharply savage societal satire such a rollicking read. He conjures up a memorable world that is ghee-greased, polluted, mired in dust and corruption, but also thrusting...An impressively entertaining but also insightful debut
With its witty, ruthless skewering of the Indian middle classes, Rahul Raina's roistering, whip-smart and deliciously fun Delhi-set crime caper, How to Kidnap the Rich, is the first great state-of-the-subcontinent novel of the 21st century
Like Mohsin Hamid's How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia, How to Kidnap the Rich purports to be a how-to manual but is in fact a rollicking urban adventure and a biting satire of inequality. Mr Raina adds a fast-paced crime caper and a stream of caustic humour.... a highly entertaining first novel from a writer to watch
[A] funny and touching satirical action thriller, in a setting that feels very fresh
An exciting blend of crime caper, satire, love story and social commentary . . . Raina, who was born in Delhi, neatly skewers the inequalities of Indian society, racism (education is merely a tool to a "whiter life"), sexism, and celebrity . . . Along with the fast-paced twists, Raina also satirises the state of modern India: the repercussions of the ongoing rivalry with Pakistan; the spectre of China as the predominant world superpower; the shallowness of modern culture; and the country's pervasive corruption.
Rahul Raina's voice crackles with wit and the affecting exuberance of youth. His ripping good story grabs you on page one and doesn't let go, taking you on a monstrously funny and unpredictable wild ride through a thousand different Delhis at top speed. How To Kidnap the Rich roars with brilliance, freshness and so much heart
Raina's debut novel lives up to its billing as a fun caper and social satire thanks to strong characterisation, a fast-paced plot and an eye for the ridiculous. His delicious skewering of the social mores of Delhi's über-rich and clear-eyed rendering of India's social hierarchy propel sheer entertainment into striking elucidation in the mode of Aravind Adiga
Brutally funny and fast-paced, this debut from Rahul Raina proves he is a star in the making
Eye-opening and huge fun . . . . A merciless attack on the iniquities of new India in the guise of a comedy thriller
Fans of My Sister the Serial Killer, Parasite and Crazy Rich Asians will be enthralled by this riotous tale from the very first line . . . A hugely entertaining and unique debut that satirically dissects India's inequalities
[A] savage cinematic caper . . . In Rahul Raina's satirical state-of-the-nation debut, which slices into the soul of contemporary Indian society, things aren't always the way they appear . . . Social commentary meets stand-up comedy, as with a biting wit reminiscent of Binyavanga Wainaina's essay "How to Write About Africa" or Paul Beatty's Booker-winner The Sellout, Raina stretches stereotype and cliche into incisive satire
You can absolutely imagine How to Kidnap the Rich blazing across the screen. It roars through New and Old Delhi , sending up new money and old money, and taking an acerbic yet affectionately head-tilted, eyebrow-raised look at the corruption, hypocrisy and dynamism of modern India...Ramesh is a bracingly cynical and funny narrator: endlessly snarking about insincerity and greed, with a side helping of self-flagellation for being no better than he ought to be - just a kid from a chai stall, plucked from poverty and educated by a saintly white nun, who's somehow ended up a serial kidnapper.
A wild and wildly funny ride through a modern day India that pits the poor against the rich, high tech against ancient traditions and one smart hustler against anyone who gets in his way
Through a thrilling cross-sectional tale - that feels like a crime caper-meets-reality TV show-meets-time-hopping love story - Raina lets loose a real rollercoaster of a read, complete with a delightful twist
India's politicians, endemic corruption, national obsession with the West and above all its super-rich come in for a bashing in How to Kidnap the Rich...what stands out in this book is its unapologetic depiction of a Delhi that's frankly a bit rubbish...But there's a fondness in this biting negativity, which convinces more than the graceful descriptive passages of other India-set novels. Chuck in twists and double-crossings, just the right amount of violence and a denouement in a besieged TV studio and you can't fail to be entertained
This is an absolute riot - part thriller, part satire of contemporary urban India...Ramesh is a wonderfully vivid character and this is an explosively funny, surprisingly moving debut
A satire, a love story and a thriller, How To Kidnap The Rich by Rahul Raina has shades of The Talented Mr Ripley that also casts an unerring eye over the huge disparity in Indian society. A rollercoaster of a read, this is going to be big
A splendidly enjoyable farcical crime caper
A satirical crime thriller-cum-profound social commentary, this is an uproarious ride through the caste system of Delhi, new and old. Energetic wit pours out of Raina's prose, while an acerbic bite highlights inequalities in race, sex and social class . . . Veering from ridiculous to heart-rending, Raina's exhilarating debut is pure entertainment
Rahul Raina's How to Kidnap the Rich has already been optioned by HBO: a Delhi-set, reality TV-based literary crime crossover, it will appeal to fans of Parasite and Crazy Rich Asians
A joyous love/hate letter to contemporary Delhi . . . Genuine feeling flows beneath the potty-mouthed satire as it gradually spirals into farce. Rahul Raina suggests life may be "a relentless parade of fear", but it is far better to laugh than cry
Sparky satire on modern India . . . a lot of fun
Funny and satirical, this is like nothing else I've read