First published 2011
Young Ziauddin works at a snack bar near the railway station in Kittur, a fictional city on India's southwest coast. For once, someone treats him with dignity, and he faces an impossible choice. Around him, the city of 193,432 residents buzzes with ambition and corruption. George D'Souza rises from mosquito controller to gardener to driver for the beautiful Mrs. Gomes, then destroys everything by overreaching. A factory owner must decide whether to blind his workers through toxic conditions or shut down his business. A wealthy student uses underworld connections to bomb his school in protest against the caste system. A small girl begs on the streets to fund her father's drug addiction, proving her love through sacrifice. These fourteen interconnected tales take place during the 1980s, spanning the assassinations of Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv. In Kittur, blessed with fertile soil and scenic beauty along the Arabian Sea and Kaliamma River, privilege and desperation collide. Only 89 residents claim no religion or caste. The rest navigate a world where success and moral failure intertwine.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, 20th-century, contemporary, 21st-century, political-thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, thought-provoking
Tropes: interconnected-stories, moral-ambiguity
Setting: Arabia, India, Kaliamma River, Kittur
Period: 1980s
384 pages · Paperback · DTV
Content warnings: violence