A review by margaret21
A State of Freedom by Neel Mukherjee

4.0

This book will be hard to forget. Five loosely linked tales. A bit-part-player in one tale is the subject of another. Everyone here has left the familiar in quest of something different, something better. The raw poverty and scraping by existence of many of the characters is quite hard to bear. I'll remember most I think Lakshman, who comes upon a beer cub, and with astonishing ignorance, cruelty and lack of empathy teaches the creature to 'dance', to provide him with an income. He lurches from crisis to crisis, and we know it won't end well. Village girl Milly is sent away aged eight to become a maid to provide an income for her family. She rarely sees her family again, but this is a success story of sorts.

It's about brutal social divisions, grinding poverty and inequality, but this compassionate book is a rewarding read.