Bhendi Bazaar - Vish Dhamija

Fiction

Meh

I picked up this book because I saw the movie adaptation of Bhendi Bazaar. I think that with very few exceptions, novels are better than movies.  I'm not quite sure if that is the case here. 

Let me clarify a bit. The story is good. Dhamija was able to keep the pace and mask the resolution right until the end - which was brilliant. However, his use of English is awkward to the point of being humorous. Perhaps it's just a language/translation problem - but from other data points in how he writes, I suspect not.  I'm not trying to discourage people from reading his work, but a good editor would have helped him out a lot. 

Bhendi Bazaar is a murder mystery. A serial killer who mutilates men to be specific. The story follows the DCP on the case - a woman to Dhamija's credit - as she fights to match wits and catch the killer. This is unusual on a few fronts. I'm not going to do a spoiler here, because the end is brilliant, but you won't see it coming, I guarantee that. And I love when an author is able to drop just enough hints to keep you restless for a resolution, but not enough that he or she assumes the reader is dumb and does too much forshadowing, leading to an easy guess.

As Dhamija himself writes in the forward, his main character is a good one. She has personality, flaws, and people can relate to her.  I wouldn't mind reading more of Dhamija's work with this character. One point I didn't much care for - and this is a common trap that writers fall for in order for their work to be accessible - is over explaining. There were way too many asides about India, police, and Mumbai. I get it - those points were important, but it would have been better if Dhamija worked them into the story in other ways. I also was left unimpressed by the romance. Sure, profilers/psychologists are useful in a case like this, but I didn't really get into the connection and transition. I think he could have either developed this or left it out all together,

Read it if you are in the mood for a Mumbai serial killer mystery and can get around the awkward writing - the story is good.

~Becky~

Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars - Sonia Faleiro

In this book, Sonia Faleiro goes in search of information on the underworld of Mumbai Dance Bars and the girls that dance in them. She comes across some very colorful, yet tragic personalities.

Far from respectable, yet not as disregarded as prostitutes, dance bar girls often walk a very fine "sugar daddy" line that is never stable nor secure and very easily slides into prostitution. Echoing some of the other less fortunate parts of different societies, getting a glimpse into the mentality of people who didn't come from money and find themselves with some of it is fascinating. There is no thought to saving, no thought to making smart decisions, should the girl have the ability to. Most girls got into the dance business from sexual abuse at home/in their village and strike out looking for a better life and more work. What she walks into is a seedy, crime infested, insecure life that she finds herself resigned to. It's tragic and fascinating at the same time.

Verdict: Read it if you have a soft spot for people forced to do their best in bad situations, especially if you have a tender for women doing the best they can while being utterly exploited.