Publisher, Audio Partners (September 2005)

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"Shale's performance is brilliant " —USA Today

A small prison cell in India holds an 18-year-old penniless waiter from a Mumbai slum. But Ram Mohammad Thomas isn't a criminal. He is under arrest for correctly answering 12 tricky trivia questions on the show Who Will Win a Billion? Reluctant to part with the jackpot of one billion rupees, the show directors bribe the police to arrest Ram, accusing him of cheating. For how else could a poor, uneducated orphan know so much: the name of the smallest planet, global capitals, and diplomatic policy? Ram is rescued by a lawyer who draws from him the always compelling, touching, and sometimes comic story of his life, explaining the source of his knowledge. An inspired performance by reader Kerry Shale captures the spirit of this off-beat novel, a blend of high comedy and touching melancholy.

"This ingenious story reveals much about the class system and corruption of modern-day India. Reader Kerry Shale captures every nuance and distinction of the many personalities involved. We are drawn in by his Japanese tourists, stuffy Australians, and Indians from various social strata. Especially humorous is Thomas when he adopts an Aussie accent." —Boston Globe

"This production gains much from Shale's excellent and lively performance. Shale makes it sincere, hilarious, heartbreaking and delightful. His gifted reading, full of emphasis, inflection and excitement, is a joy to listen to." —Publisher's Weekly, August 2005

"Kerry Shale reads the work well. The range of accents he gives the characters adds immeasurably to one's enjoyment in listening and in no way impedes the listener's ability to understand." —AudioFile

About the Author: Vikas Swarup is an Indian diplomat who has served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, and Great Britain, and currently works in New Delhi. Q & A is his first novel.

About the Performer: Kerry Shale is a Sony Radio Academy Award winner, reader of dozens of audio books, and actor in films as diverse as Yentl and Welcome to Sarajevo.