The tailors who have contrasting personalities, the young Parsi who is lost between his values and the way the world is treating those near and dear to him, the beggar on wheels who lives without a worry and falls prey to an accident of circumstances, the Beggarmaster who is, alternately, a benefactor and a terror to those he controls, Dina Patel, the central protagonist of the book who tries to continually balance her life, her fortunes, her finances and her luck, this book has it all. I started this book with the feeling that Mistry would lead us on a garden path and/or into the pits; he, however, wrote such a tale, frenzied at some places and morbidly but effectively slow at others, that I , who ordinarily reads books at a snail's pace, finished this book within a fortnight. And what a fortnight it was! He made me smile, laugh, cry bucketsful of tears, and grimace; he made me sing with joy, scream with agony, dance with ecstasy and frown with a sense of impending doom as he led me into the world of ordinary Indians with extraordinary tales of joy and sorrow, of crimes and redemptions, of anger and dismay and destruction and sorrow.

In the end, sorrow and a sense of loss pervaded me when I closed the book. The feelings stayed with me for some more days, and then, Mumbaiite that I was, I learnt to proceed with my life. From time to time, I glance at the side-title of the book on my bookcase, and am instantly transported into his world.

Recommended reading for EVERYONE who is interested in the human aspects of life. This book raises the curtain on life in a so-called heartless metro city in India.

The excellent fleshing out of all the characters, and the faultless and racy script/story-line.

Nothing.

Cry for the tragedies of life. Laugh at the descriptions of some of the people who share the mainstage with the two heroes of the book.

Depressed for days, but happy to have understood the plight of the underprivileged and the dredges of society.

Rohinton Mistry.

it will open your eyes to the nether world of the vast communities of India.

I am now going to read another favourite of Rohinton Mistry, namely "Family Matters".

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Created Sep 23, 2008 at 3:54am • Submit your own review...