Lalloo and his family are indentured, living in a bhatti from which unending debt will prevent their ever getting out.

Traumatized and guilt-ridden by his older brother's murder, Lalloo has been sent away from his family to carve out a new life.

His dream is the same as his brother's--get the family out of the bhatti. He will stop at nothing to make that happen.

This is a good story, with wide appeal. I learned a lot of Pakistani words (constantly at the google translation site lol). Be warned though. It is depressing.

I liked the grim realism. It's hard to believe that such lives exist. But they do.

The ending was a little hopeful. So you say, what's not to like about that? I'll tell you. The rest of the book is GRIM. The ending is just...Grim.

Lost a couple of capital letters there. Still grim, though.

Rewrite the ending. Not pie-in-the sky everyone skips off down the road ending, but there is some unfinished business.

Grim.

It's a good reminder of how some people must live their lives.

Also it's a good reminder to be thankful for what you have. Others do not. Have.

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Created Feb 06, 2026 at 8:49pm • Submit your own review...