Nancy A. (Chocoholic) reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on + 291 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
This is the sort of book that a reader picks up on a whim, finds unable to put down, and thrusts into the hands of another when they're done, saying, "you have to read this." Because you do. You have to read this. This slice of life book is written so well that the characters come to life and the reader tends to forget that this is a work of nonfiction. This stuff actually happened. The book focuses on one slum of Mumbai, India and its inhabitants. There are good people and bad. All of the people are flawed in some way or form. At the end of the book, I found myself wanting to know more, wanting to know what happened to the families the author had caused me to care so much about over just a few hundred pages. Read this book. You won't regret it.
Laurel C. reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A beautifully written account of the lives of several Annawadi slum dwellers, and of their attempts to raise their standards of living. A few do it by fair means, but most by foul. The level of corruption is astonishing, but in their eyes necessary for survival. This is not for the faint of heart, but it is a valuable look into a world few of us will ever see firsthand.
Nada A. reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on + 1395 more book reviews
Review first published on my blog: http://memoriesfrombooks.blogspot.com/2013/03/behind-beautiful-forevers.html
Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a snapshot - the history of a place told through the story of one community's fight to survive. The author Katherine Boo is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. Her connection to India is a very personal one. India represents the land and heritage of her husband.
This book presents a very personal story about a Mumbai slum - Annawadi. Through the lives of its residents, the book tells the story of the place. It deals with the extreme poverty, the corruption, the racial and religious tensions, and the impact of world events on this community. Amidst this abject living exist the bonds of family, friendship, and love.
It is the story of the mother seeking to hold her family together. It is the story of the young man who has to learn to shoulder responsibility way too early. It is the story of the young woman who sees education as her way out. It is the story of some who see death as their only way out. It is the story of the boy who every day makes the choice between a life of crime and something different. It is the story of those who use corruption to survive and those who are caught in its effects.
It is a story of the physical conditions of the place. The open sewage. The garbage. The temporary shelters. The stench. And the disease. Some of the graphic descriptions of the physical afflictions are the jarring note for me in this book. Yes, the conditions are as miserable as the book portrays. I have seen them - not in Annawadi but in similar places. However, the graphic descriptions particularly of disease repeat so often in the book that the repetition becomes an unneeded element.
What stands out most for me is that people everywhere are the same - whether in the mud and filth of a slum or in a suburban home or in a mansion; whether in India or the US or anywhere in the world. Families who agree and disagree. Parents wanting a better life for their children than what they have. Friendships that flourish in the unlikeliest of pairs. Love. Human nature that transcends our circumstances. We as people are the same no matter where we are. We are blessed if our circumstances are worlds away from those described in the book.
Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a snapshot - the history of a place told through the story of one community's fight to survive. The author Katherine Boo is a Pulitzer prize winning journalist. Her connection to India is a very personal one. India represents the land and heritage of her husband.
This book presents a very personal story about a Mumbai slum - Annawadi. Through the lives of its residents, the book tells the story of the place. It deals with the extreme poverty, the corruption, the racial and religious tensions, and the impact of world events on this community. Amidst this abject living exist the bonds of family, friendship, and love.
It is the story of the mother seeking to hold her family together. It is the story of the young man who has to learn to shoulder responsibility way too early. It is the story of the young woman who sees education as her way out. It is the story of some who see death as their only way out. It is the story of the boy who every day makes the choice between a life of crime and something different. It is the story of those who use corruption to survive and those who are caught in its effects.
It is a story of the physical conditions of the place. The open sewage. The garbage. The temporary shelters. The stench. And the disease. Some of the graphic descriptions of the physical afflictions are the jarring note for me in this book. Yes, the conditions are as miserable as the book portrays. I have seen them - not in Annawadi but in similar places. However, the graphic descriptions particularly of disease repeat so often in the book that the repetition becomes an unneeded element.
What stands out most for me is that people everywhere are the same - whether in the mud and filth of a slum or in a suburban home or in a mansion; whether in India or the US or anywhere in the world. Families who agree and disagree. Parents wanting a better life for their children than what they have. Friendships that flourish in the unlikeliest of pairs. Love. Human nature that transcends our circumstances. We as people are the same no matter where we are. We are blessed if our circumstances are worlds away from those described in the book.
John O. (buzzby) -
Reads like a novel, but not very edifying if you don't like descriptions of filth. You can find the slum, and with more information, Abdul's street, on GoogleEarth (northwest of the airport)
Tracy M. (nitramy) reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on
I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It blows my mind that it's nonfiction. Katherine Boo is a talented writer. This is an easy and deeply moving read. I lived in India for a few years, and the intense poverty that Boo describes through the stories of these people is both accurate and devastating. I've passed this book on to multiple friends and family members, and will continue to do so.
Julie S. (jsinjp) reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on + 2 more book reviews
This book is a National Book Award winner and one of the 10 Best Books of 2012 by the New York Times Book Review, written by Pulitzer Prize author Katherine Boo. On President Obama's list of recommended books. Emotional book describing the life and desperation in a ghetto of Mumbai.
Great piece of narrative non-fiction!
Ayman F. (thebigaym) reviewed Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity on + 67 more book reviews
Reporter Katherine Boo travels to Annawadi, a slum in Mumbai, and chronicles the lives of some of its residents. Is it more poverty porn? Would you not be better off reading Aravind Adiga's collection of stores entitled Between the Assassinations? I mean, poverty is poverty is poverty. And let's face it: We don't like seeing, hearing or talking about it. We want our soap operas to feature corporate intrigue and disputes over vast properties, like Dallas or Dynasty, not schmucks needing payday loans to keep the water on and pay rent. We want our superheroes to be self-funded billionaires like Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Charles Frances Xavier (Professor X). We don't even hear about poverty from our news outlets.
