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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a hard book to review. Was the writing amazing? Yes. Was the story compelling? Yes. Did I learn something about a culture I know nothing about? Yes. Was it hard to read and upsetting? Yes. Am I glad I read it?.... yes. A hard read but ultimately a good one. Check the content warning though - this book could be very triggering to many folks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Grief
Minor: Animal cruelty
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novel was really hard to read. So many times I had to put it down because I couldn’t face the story. Even when I would take a break from reading, the book persisted in my thoughts because I know real stories have gone on in Kamathipura for years and still go on today. For that, I’m glad this book exists.
Irani perfects a balance in this novel between presenting a well told story and exploring the realities of Kamathipura. I had my doubts about the storytelling itself at times, but they were all cleared up by the end. This ending was one of the best I’ve ever read. It wasn’t wholly what I expected but it just makes so much sense when you look back at it.
Irani perfects a balance in this novel between presenting a well told story and exploring the realities of Kamathipura. I had my doubts about the storytelling itself at times, but they were all cleared up by the end. This ending was one of the best I’ve ever read. It wasn’t wholly what I expected but it just makes so much sense when you look back at it.
3.5/5
Truly heartbreaking and well written; this is a sad and gruesome novel about the horrors of child trafficking and injustices in the red light district of Bombay. I found it difficult to get through not only because of the subject matter, but also the tangential way in which the narrator Madhu reflects on her past. I was interested in many of the side characters but felt I wasn’t given enough information to fully dive into their stories, which makes this a 3.5 as opposed to 5 star for me.
Truly heartbreaking and well written; this is a sad and gruesome novel about the horrors of child trafficking and injustices in the red light district of Bombay. I found it difficult to get through not only because of the subject matter, but also the tangential way in which the narrator Madhu reflects on her past. I was interested in many of the side characters but felt I wasn’t given enough information to fully dive into their stories, which makes this a 3.5 as opposed to 5 star for me.
This book was a wonder to read and had me ensnared! Irani writing is at times beautiful but also sad and dark. It is a difficult topic that he tackeled, and his main character was morally ambiguois which often made it hard for me to root for her. However, the redemption arc at the end of the book redeemed Madhu in my eyes and created a happy ending for a book that talked about so many people's lives that were filled with hardship.
When I read Arundhati Roy's Booker nominated [b:The Ministry of Utmost Happiness|32388712|The Ministry of Utmost Happiness|Arundhati Roy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1520327592l/32388712._SY75_.jpg|53001637] a few years back, I was most struck by the initial hundred or so pages, which detailed the life of the hijra Anjum. So when I heard about this book, which is also centered on a hijra character, I was intrigued. Irani's book is far grittier however, and reading it was both harrowing and disturbing, because most of it details Madhu, the hijra's, preparation of a young 10 year old girl from Nepal to begin a life of prostitution.
Perhaps because I read it right in the thick of revelations about Jeffrey Epstein's arrest for decades of sex trafficking children, the book was heart wrenching in its immediacy. Irani's writing is excellent, as can be seen by the many awards he's won and been nominated for, but I just found most of this difficult to get through, although it DOES have a hopeful ending. It's a book that I have a feeling won't be easily forgotten however, but a word of caution for anyone with delicate sensibilities.
Perhaps because I read it right in the thick of revelations about Jeffrey Epstein's arrest for decades of sex trafficking children, the book was heart wrenching in its immediacy. Irani's writing is excellent, as can be seen by the many awards he's won and been nominated for, but I just found most of this difficult to get through, although it DOES have a hopeful ending. It's a book that I have a feeling won't be easily forgotten however, but a word of caution for anyone with delicate sensibilities.
On the surface this story is very straightforward: Madhu, a trans-woman (called a "hijra" in the red-light district of Kamathipura, located in Bombay) who once worked as a prostitute but has now aged and been reduced to begging for money, is given a task by a brothel owner to prepare a "parcel" for initiation into sex work.
Okay, sounds bleak and horrendous...well, it is. And it is a painful journey to locate the deeper resonance of the novel: Madhu- abandoned, marginalized, and left empty by everyone around her, is trying to find a purpose in a life where everything seems to lead to failure and heartache.
There are questions about the way women are at the mercy of a patriarchal society; the human quest to be accepted by our parents, in this case from a trans perspective; the circular nature of pain begetting pain; the transcending power of love...
Anosh Irani's novel uses very frank and deliberate language, with endless metaphors to detail the psychological and literal pain experienced by a marginalized group of humans living in poverty across fourteen lanes in Bombay's red-light district.
Okay, sounds bleak and horrendous...well, it is. And it is a painful journey to locate the deeper resonance of the novel: Madhu- abandoned, marginalized, and left empty by everyone around her, is trying to find a purpose in a life where everything seems to lead to failure and heartache.
There are questions about the way women are at the mercy of a patriarchal society; the human quest to be accepted by our parents, in this case from a trans perspective; the circular nature of pain begetting pain; the transcending power of love...
Anosh Irani's novel uses very frank and deliberate language, with endless metaphors to detail the psychological and literal pain experienced by a marginalized group of humans living in poverty across fourteen lanes in Bombay's red-light district.
This novel was published at the perfect time for me. I'd read Arundhati Roy's sprawling new novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” over the summer. While I admired so much about her impassioned writing, I was disappointed that she didn't concentrate more on the full story of Anjum, an intersex character or hijra whose story begins the novel. Then, more recently, I read Shobha Roa's book of short stories “An Unrestored Woman” for the Anna & Eric Book Club and one of the stories which struck me most was 'Blindfold' about the madam of a brothel who purchases young girls to turn them into prostitutes. Both these stories left me eager to better understand characters like these and learn more about these aspects of Indian society.
Coincidentally, Anosh Irani's “The Parcel” is essentially a blend of these two tales as it follows a character named Madhu, a 40 year old hijra whose years of prostitution in the notorious Kamathipura red light district are behind her. While she lives in a household with other intersex individuals, she's been reduced to begging on the side of the road to earn money. Madhu also works for Padma, a fiercely independent madam of a local brothel. Madhul helps new girls (who are frequently purchased from their families in Nepal) to adjust to a life in prostitution and accept their new situation. The novel follows the way she indoctrinates of one such ten year old girl and the dramatic changes that occur within the house of hijras where she resides. It’s an arresting and incredibly thought provoking story that totally gripped me.
Read my full review of The Parcel by Anosh Irani on LonesomeReader
Coincidentally, Anosh Irani's “The Parcel” is essentially a blend of these two tales as it follows a character named Madhu, a 40 year old hijra whose years of prostitution in the notorious Kamathipura red light district are behind her. While she lives in a household with other intersex individuals, she's been reduced to begging on the side of the road to earn money. Madhu also works for Padma, a fiercely independent madam of a local brothel. Madhul helps new girls (who are frequently purchased from their families in Nepal) to adjust to a life in prostitution and accept their new situation. The novel follows the way she indoctrinates of one such ten year old girl and the dramatic changes that occur within the house of hijras where she resides. It’s an arresting and incredibly thought provoking story that totally gripped me.
Read my full review of The Parcel by Anosh Irani on LonesomeReader
I'm probably going to cry for the remainder of the weekend at this book. What a heartbreaking, but hugely important book about the Hijra community, Bombay's red light district, human trafficking, and the fight for freedom and redemption.
Ah
Well this was a depressing book that makes you feel sick, partly because of the subject matter, but also because you know that it deals with real world issues.
The book doesn't shy away, it lifts the curtain between literature and reality. This is not an easy read, you'll often have to put the book down, but the book carries more weight than most. It forces you to consider the world. It is a book with a valuable message and perspective.
Very well written.
The ending was abrupt.
Well this was a depressing book that makes you feel sick, partly because of the subject matter, but also because you know that it deals with real world issues.
The book doesn't shy away, it lifts the curtain between literature and reality. This is not an easy read, you'll often have to put the book down, but the book carries more weight than most. It forces you to consider the world. It is a book with a valuable message and perspective.
Very well written.
The ending was abrupt.
Remember being stuck in a phase of life that makes you cringe and suffocate. You feel so out of place and your only reasonable action is desperately trying to fit in. Now imagine, having to do that throughout your life because you are confined within the shackles of the wrong body. Add to that, the uncooperative and cruel society that doesn’t let you be at peace. Constant disapproval and ostracism from everyone who is unlike you is bound to drive you bitter and crazy. So what do you do in such circumstances? You survive. You survive in whatever meagre way possible because giving up is not so easy when, despite your abnormalities, you have high hopes and aspirations in your life.
At the traffic junction, in marriages, at parks, we spot these human beings whom we endearingly call ‘hijras’. The band of soldiers who are fighting with the society everyday because they have been blessed to be in the intermediate of mankind and womankind. The pain of not being either eats into them, rots away their bodies and their souls. Their unexpected arrival has irked us each and every time and out of embarrassment we have handed over the money they have begged for. “Good riddance!” But do we really think that the money can help us get rid of their presence forever or could it help them get rid of their eternal suppressal in the hands of the “normal” men and women who have been fortunate to pick one side as soon as they were born. Such rants are the result of reading a beautiful book called ‘The Parcel’, wherein I was spellbound by the aspirations of Madhu who could have lived a normal life of she had chosen a side. But since she chose neither she was shunned to the hijra gulli. But does that make her dreams any different to the ones that we have? Anosh Irani has craftily captured the various excruciating activities that go on in the red-light district through the eyes of Madhu.
What made the book stand out was how it wasn’t just a survivor’s rescual story. It was much more than that. It gave us a glimpse of the world that is considered to be too different to ours in spite of being close geographically. The book was not all about the pain, it focused on the kindness of these souls towards one another that helped them strive through the circumstances. Most importantly the author made us believe that these fellow humans we so royally shunned are no different than us. Only their faces are naked and they are not donning masks like their privileged counterparts.
If you have ever been annoyed at the sight of a hijra, then go to the link above or to your nearest bookstore and get yourself a copy of this book. And read.
At the traffic junction, in marriages, at parks, we spot these human beings whom we endearingly call ‘hijras’. The band of soldiers who are fighting with the society everyday because they have been blessed to be in the intermediate of mankind and womankind. The pain of not being either eats into them, rots away their bodies and their souls. Their unexpected arrival has irked us each and every time and out of embarrassment we have handed over the money they have begged for. “Good riddance!” But do we really think that the money can help us get rid of their presence forever or could it help them get rid of their eternal suppressal in the hands of the “normal” men and women who have been fortunate to pick one side as soon as they were born. Such rants are the result of reading a beautiful book called ‘The Parcel’, wherein I was spellbound by the aspirations of Madhu who could have lived a normal life of she had chosen a side. But since she chose neither she was shunned to the hijra gulli. But does that make her dreams any different to the ones that we have? Anosh Irani has craftily captured the various excruciating activities that go on in the red-light district through the eyes of Madhu.
What made the book stand out was how it wasn’t just a survivor’s rescual story. It was much more than that. It gave us a glimpse of the world that is considered to be too different to ours in spite of being close geographically. The book was not all about the pain, it focused on the kindness of these souls towards one another that helped them strive through the circumstances. Most importantly the author made us believe that these fellow humans we so royally shunned are no different than us. Only their faces are naked and they are not donning masks like their privileged counterparts.
If you have ever been annoyed at the sight of a hijra, then go to the link above or to your nearest bookstore and get yourself a copy of this book. And read.