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There are currently 32 member reviews
for Behind the Beautiful Forevers
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Gayle M. (Billerica, MA)
Good Book / Tough Subject
Although I generally don't read non-fiction, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It's a fascinating view into a world that most of us will never encounter. The story is told in a way that draws the reader in. I would recommend this book, but warn readers that parts of it are difficult to read.
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sadie
It's a winnah!
All of the great press that you've been reading about this book? It rates! It's true! What an amazing tale. Yes, the context is difficult but the overall narrative really shines. I will be recommending this to everyone.
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Viqui G. (State College, PA)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
This book encapsulate the lives of typical Annawadi residents, a slum next to the Mumbai airport. Their lives are difficult and very stressful but as Sunil, one of the street boys ponders, that even though he has a bad life, "a boy's life could still matter to himself".
We learn how the most disenfranchised members of this slum are able to survive and even flourish: Abdul the garbage sorter, Kalu, the scrap -metal thief, and Manju a college student who can get a degree by memorization or "by-hearting" her lessons. However, when tragedy strikes them it is very difficult for these slum residents to overcome adversity.
This book certainly made me realize that the pervasiveness of corruption is in all aspects of life in India. Bribes are a way of life and accepted as such. Even the Indian criminal justice system was a market and in Abdul's words "innocence and guilt could be bought and sold like a kilo of polyurethane bags". However some of these residents also have hope of improvement in their lives, and this hope is what motivates them, even when their conditions are deplorable. Other residents lose their hope and commit suicide.
Overall, this "narrative nonfiction" reads like a novel. Katherine Boo has depicted the residents of Annawadi in a sympathetic yet realistic manner. She has researched this community with thoroughness and imparts her information in a very readable prose.
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Liz C. (Kalamazoo, MI)
Riveting
In Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo gives readers a riveting glimpse into the lives of the residents of Annawadi, a makeshift slum near the Mumbai airport. Boo artfully portrays the lives of people living in circumstances I couldn’t imagine. This book impressed me on many levels. Boo spent over 3 years with the people she writes about: Abdul Husain, a Muslim, teenage garbage picker; Zehrunisa, his mother; Asha, a middle-aged mother with aspirations of improving her position in life by taking on the role of slum lord; Manju, Asha’s daughter, who attends a college of sorts, and Fatima, the Hussains’ neighbor whose actions set in motion a tragedy for both families. The end result is narrative nonfiction at its finest and a book you won’t soon forget.
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Charlene M. (Murrells Inlet, SC)
Beautiful Forevers
Interesting look at the underside of a caste society that I will never experience. Ms. Boo has written a story richly speckled with pathos & the humaness of the invisible life in India.
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Carm D. (Omaha, NE)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo
This book was so well written and well researched. I really had no idea about the sub-society that exists in Mumbai and probably other large cities in India. The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it made me so sad! I had to read a chapter and then walk away for a day or two before I could continue. I am wiser and more compassionate for having read this book, and for that I am grateful to Ms Boo for writing it.
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Norman G. (Diamond Bar, CA)
Enlightening
The author gives a fascinating look at a very unusual aspect at the lives of the vast majority of Indian citizens.The characters follow form but do not engender any deep feelings from the reader and this detracts from the overall experience. I highly recommend the book for what the reader experiences but cannot give it 5 stars as I wanted to feel more affinity to the characters as people.
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