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Violence: 4/5
Nudity: 0/5
Drug Abuse: 1/5
Language: 0/5
Sexual Content: 1/5
Violence: There are descriptions of beatings, suicide attempts and successes, and grotesque deaths.
Drug Abuse: Two people consume rat poison.
Sexual content: There are references to some women selling themselves for money but no descriptions.
Summary
It's a dog eat dog world in Annawadi and one wrong move could prove to be your undoing of success. This story focuses on a makeshift village near the Mumbai air port, but as India continues to prosper the government wants to put hotels, water parks or a resort where they are settled.
Asha is seen as the leader of Annawadi though many dislike her ways of business. Loans are available to the poor but she keeps most of the information from the villagers and uses it for her own climb up the social ladder. To secure the money will continue she creates a sham that there is a school in Annawadi and that many kids attend. However, reality is that Manju her daughter who attends college teaches a few children in their living room. Maju dreams of escaping her mothers terrible reputation and ascending out of Annawadi but her mother has other plans.
A low but at times successful trade is the garbage sorters. Among them is Abdul who is largely built and works endlessly from sun up to sun down to help put food on the table. While he was replacing a wall in their shack their neighbor accuses them of tearing apart her shack. An argument ensues between the families and an economic battle begins. The tragedies in Annawadi address the problems of money, sex, power, and manipulation.
Review
This was one of the required reading for last month of Nerdfighter reading list on Goodreads. It takes a while for me to get the books since I rent them from the library so I am a month behind. I like the way it is written. At times it is hard to know when the perspective changes and keeping track of everyone at first but after the first chapter it's not very difficult as you become accustomed to the characters/people.
I say people because these are true tragedies. It wasn't dark, or mopey but the writer at times could be funny and witty which I really enjoyed. What I felt was very important is that the writer explains how it is in the area at least it felt raw to myself while reading.
I won't say that it's a thriller, mystery or of anything like that. It's like reading a documentary which I enjoy and if you don't like documentaries then don't worry about this. What this book was successful at with myself was reminding me how blessed I am for the lifestyle I can lead. I can't imagine what it's like to sleep on the dirt floor and wishing for years to own some tile. Or how lost I could become believing that my future was a failure already and wanted to end it.
I think Abdul and Manju were the only two that I really liked in the book. I would give it a 3/5. It was good and I would recommend it if I knew someone was into this sort of genre but not running around trying to convert people.
You will have to forgive me for the lack of posts. I thought it was automatically updating but it seemed to not work. :( Hopefully we don't have a drought again. :D
By: J Feistner
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