Reviews

This is a beautiful novel about Jai, a 9-year-old boy living in an Indian slum, who is desperate to be a detective like his TV heroes on Police Patrol one day. When neighbourhood children begin to go missing he ropes in his friends Pari and Faiz to investigate whether a Djinn might be behind the disappearances.

Deepa Anappara's writing is a joy to read, bright, humourous and evocative - I could almost see and hear the sights and sounds of the bazaar and slum - and ultimately heartbreaking.

I was really reminded of Katherine Boo's non-fiction masterpiece, Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, so it was interesting to learn in the afterword that Anappara is also a former journalist.

This one is highly recommended.

nicoledeeeeee's review against another edition

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3.0

picked this book out based on the title. thought it was going to be a magical realism story with djinns. there were no djinns. there were only a few mentions of djinns.

despite the emotional premise of the book i felt bored the entire time, as it seems so did the main character. it picked up once

the sister was kidnapped

. the ending is open-ended but it made sense for the story. it was well written, but the supporting characters were much more compelling than the protagonist and i honestly found myself frustrated by his lack of self awareness, compassion, and brains.

jmarchek's review against another edition

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3.0

Interesting story of poor children in India and their families. I don't know why but somehow I was under the impression that the magical/fantasy element would end with a happy ending, but that's definitely not the case. I enjoyed the novel for the most part but then was bogged down and sad with the last 1/4 and ending.

pwillie's review against another edition

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4.0

Kind of a combination of Katherine Boo's excellent "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" (a personal all-time favorite), a crime mystery, and a Dickens novel. Interesting characters trying to survive in a world of poverty and corruption.

h_elene's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

lunaseline's review against another edition

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2.0

Bakgrunden och innehållet är angeläget. Miljön är levande och autentisk. Likaså huvudpersonens röst - vilket inte är självklart i fallet "10-årig pojke".
Men när Anappara i sina slutord berättar att hon är journalist och ville skriva en historia utanför tidningsreportagens ramar så tänkte jag... att jag hellre läst reportaget.
Förmodligen är det mig det är fel på. Min koncentrationsförmåga och mitt tålamod är kanske undermåliga.
För - alla inledande konstateranden till trots - jag blir uttråkad.
Med tanke på historien och berättarrösten ger detta faktum mig dåligt samvete - vilket inte direkt förhöjer läsupplevelsen.
Det är helt enkelt för långt, för segt och för.. utsiktslöst? Hopplöst. Vilket ju är hela poängen med att visa denna mörka sida av Indien - och mänskligheten.
Den här boken hittar säkert sina läsare. Sådana den förtjänar. Sådana som kan uppskatta att förflyttas i tid och klass och lära sig nya ord och livsvillkor.
Jag är för otålig och trött.

katymaryreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Enlightening and Poignant. Sometimes a bit hard to keep track of on audio - might have been better on the page. Very descriptive, and the point f view of the child main character was brilliantly handled.

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