Behind the Beautiful Forevers : : Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity

Locations
Call Number: Large Print 305.569 Bo, Adult Book / Large Print / Nonfiction / Social Science / Boo, Katherine
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Large Print 4-week checkout	Large Print 305.569 Bo	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Large Print / Nonfiction / Social Science / Boo, Katherine	4-week checkout	On Shelf

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

well-written but depressing submitted by camelsamba on June 20, 2016, 7:51pm The book, I suppose, is well-written. It certainly tells an important story by shining a light on the reality of "life ... in a Mumbai under city." But it was so depressing. As the author points out, rather than rally against the true enemy (endemic corruption, those a few rungs up the ladder of power, etc) the slum dwellers take out their anger and frustration on each other: "Instead, powerless individuals blamed other powerless individuals for what they lacked. Sometimes they tried to destroy one another. Sometimes they destroyed themselves in the process. When they were fortunate they improved their lots by beggaring the life chances of other poor people." (p 237) In the end, I didn't really enjoy this very much, and that is what is reflected in my 2 stars.

I listened to audiobook, and the narrator helped draw me into the story. But there are a lot of people in this story, and I had a hard time keeping them straight as I listened, especially the ones outside the Husain family or Asha's family. There might be visual clues in the print edition that would have helped me know when it was jumping around, plus I personally would benefit from seeing the names. I also had a hard time keeping track of the passage of time. But at the same time, I might have given up if I'd been reading the print edition; the fact that I could multi-task may be the only thing that kept me going...