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tctimlin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Through the eyes of our young narrator, we see life in an Indian squatter slum where parents are working just to keep above water, and larger societal forces are either threatening to bulldoze their homes or ignoring their existence altogether. When one of his classmates goes missing, Jay and his friends determine to become detectives as the police refuse to investigate. As time goes on and Jay amasses clues that take him nowhere, more and more children disappear. Outraged adults with no power to take on the police find their community broken apart by religion (Hindu v. Muslim) and economics. Although the story is told through the eyes of a young boy who believes equally fervently in the powers of djinns and abilities of television detectives, this novel presents a vibrant, well-articulated view of modern India and the stark differences between the lives of the scavenger children on the trash heaps and the “hi-fi madams” in the gated penthouses.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
amaezone's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Islamophobia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
“What is a whole life? If you die when you’re still a child, is your life whole or half or zero?”
The title is what first caught my attention about this book. For real, what a great title! I feel like you can't tell me that you wouldn't at least be interested in reading a blurb to find out more about it. Which is exactly what happened to me. I held off for a minute after reading the blurb though, because to be honest I find that books written by adults from a child's perspective can be hit or miss, at least for me. But as I followed reviews from other readers, it seemed that consensus was that Anappara handled that aspect well. So I decided to give it a go.
Jai lives with his parents and sister (Runu) in a basti (basically, a slum) in an (unnamed) city in India. He spends his days in school, avoiding chores/homework and arguing with his sister and wandering the local market lanes. When a child from their basti disappears, Jai (who has spent many hours watching Police Patrol on tv), convinces his friends Pari and Faiz to help him as detective "assistants," trying to investigate and track down their missing classmate. But things escalate when more children start disappearing, the police aren't doing anything despite the pleas of the basti parents, and religious tensions grow dangerous as blame for the missing children starts getting thrown around.
Let me just start by saying that I agree with all the readers who felt like Anappara wrote from a child's perspective with authenticity. Jai's voice is the exact right combination of innocent and earnest and oddly insightful, without veering into being too precocious so as to be unbelievable or too childish as to be annoying to read for a full-length novel. And in reading the Afterward, she talks about wanting to highlight, with the POV she chose to write from (and in light of the statistics of the “epidemic” of missing children in India), the “resilience, cheerfulness, and swagger” of the youth that she has spoken with through her time as a journalist. For what it's worth, I feel like she did that, while still showing how deeply they were affected by the violence and loss around them. As I talk about the writing, I also want to point out that Anappara can set a scene with the best of them. The portraits of the basti and the families and the realities of poverty and girlhood and the disappearing children, all of it really, was so fully rendered - this may be fiction but it was as tangible as reality. It's clear that she really knew the spaces she was writing about. Lastly, as a stylistic writing choice, the little "ghost" stories that she began each section with did grow on me, by the end, but honestly they just never flowed, literarily, as well with the rest of the novel as I would have wanted; though they were on point topically. I did, however, love (in the sense that I loved what they added to the depth of the novel, not that I loved what they were telling/showing), the intermittent chapters from the point of views of the last moments of each of the disappeared children. Heartbreaking, but they really gave the novel an extra something that it needed.
There was a well-balanced mix of "plot" and exposition in this book, that I think easily could have swayed too far one way, but never did. The mystery piece, as the basti residents (and of course our intrepid detectives Jai, Pari and Fai) gather information and details and the number of missing children increases, was paced nicely and had enough info to satisfy us as readers while not being more than these characters might have known/had informational access to. Simultaneously, Anappara's skill in setting the scene unfolded, giving the reader clear and unforgiving insight into the social/structural inequalities and dangers of poverty/religious minority in India's slums. Addressing topics from homelessness/begging to sexual assault to general lack of political/administrative care to the details of the education system (and the way so many children of poor families have less access/must work instead of attending, etc.) to the limiting expectations/options for girls, the knowledge from her journalistic exprience and background provided such a fullness to them. In addition, the way she wrote about how rumors/word spread, the way stories are trumped up with retellings (to the harm of innocents - the victims and minority groups and others without proof), was so compelling. Plus, the reality she portrays, with how communities are incited and react in the face of no support from police/policy makers (when any chance at justice falls to the hands of the masses) is a horrific, contradictory, and universal truth.
Overall, this was quite a heavy story, especially the ending. It's very literarily well done, but the lack of clarity and conclusion is frustrating (for the reader) as well as difficult (in the heartbreaking way) to read, but also....very real. It's in some ways softened by the child's point of view that tells the story, and in some ways made worse by how aware the reader is of the loss of "innocence" as it happens, even if the child isn't (at least not on the same level). I thought this novel was immersive and gripping as far as the writing, though not particularly lighthearted or easy-going topically, and with that caveat, I really "enjoyed" reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Stalking
literarylaila's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Kidnapping
_inge_'s review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Kidnapping
Minor: Alcoholism
ceecee9093's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death and Domestic abuse
dgrachel's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is a novel that broke my heart. When a classmate goes missing, 9 year old Jai, who is obsessed with detective shows on TV, gathers his two best friends to investigate the case. As other children go missing, Jai and his friends take bigger risks to try to discover the truth behind the disappearances. Told from Jai’s perspective, Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line, is both amusing and horrifying. As an indictment of the treatment of the poor and “other” in India, the novel sheds light on how the poor are barely considered human, but it also showcases the resilience of the people, particularly the children. Happiness and hope weaves throughout the suffering. It’s a beautiful, if heartbreaking, novel and I cannot recommend it enough. Also, the audiobook is phenomenal. I switched between audio and print, and the narrator is fantastic.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
enjoyjournaling's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked Jai, a young boy, as the narrator. It gives a darker story that childlike obliviousness that glosses over some of the worse parts of the world. I thought the pacing was a little slower, but it’s clear the author has spent time in communities like the one she’s written about here.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Islamophobia, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, and Sexism
dbear's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
womanwill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Excrement, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Police brutality, and Stalking