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mandi_m's review against another edition
Review from wonderful customer Denise!
The first half of the book tells the story about bar dancers and the second half deals with the effect of the ban imposed on Bombay’s dance bars, by the government.
The conversations with the characters flow naturally in a mix of English, Hindi, and slang that is oddly easy to understand sometimes. Things are told as they are, nothing more or less.
The life of dance bar girls is told through the story of Leela (a bar dancer), her family, her past, her friends from the same profession, her customers, dance bar owners, the underworld, the policemen, the pimps, the health hazards.
Life changes for Leela and the others in the most unexpected way.
You grow to care for Leela. The sad, moving fate to which she and the others are pushed to makes the reader think and question the “morality” of society.
The author brings it out, revealing the true nature of “men” – who move from one bed to another, from one woman to another, to satisfy their own needs. And women (like Leela) end up resorting to alcohol and false promises of happiness and normal life
The first half of the book tells the story about bar dancers and the second half deals with the effect of the ban imposed on Bombay’s dance bars, by the government.
The conversations with the characters flow naturally in a mix of English, Hindi, and slang that is oddly easy to understand sometimes. Things are told as they are, nothing more or less.
The life of dance bar girls is told through the story of Leela (a bar dancer), her family, her past, her friends from the same profession, her customers, dance bar owners, the underworld, the policemen, the pimps, the health hazards.
Life changes for Leela and the others in the most unexpected way.
You grow to care for Leela. The sad, moving fate to which she and the others are pushed to makes the reader think and question the “morality” of society.
The author brings it out, revealing the true nature of “men” – who move from one bed to another, from one woman to another, to satisfy their own needs. And women (like Leela) end up resorting to alcohol and false promises of happiness and normal life
line_so_fine's review
4.0
Faleiro befriends Leela, a bar dancer in a squalid area of Mumbai. Leela is witty, smart, and calculating. She, along with many of her contemporaries, has escaped a horrific childhood in a nearby village at a very brave age 13. The backstories of each of the women was gutwrenching and very hard to read. Faleiro does a good job of describing her relationship with Leela while keeping the focus on Leela's life overall, and keeping a balance between showing the ways in which Leela and her peers are victimized but find ways to have agency where they are able.
sarahc1215's review
3.0
In this heartbreaking work of non-fiction, Sonia Faleiro guides us through Bombay's sexy and depraved dance bars as she tells the story of Leela, a 19 year old dancer. Leela flees her violent childhood home and her beauty turns her into one of the dance bars most popular girls. The business involves sex, money, violence, bribes and extortion; however, despite its flaws she enjoys the independence it provides. When politicians close the dance bars on claims of morality (although in reality the wealthier dance bars were allowed to remain open), Leela goes deeper into the Bombay underbelly as she struggles to survive while never giving up her sense of freedom.
Of course, it is all too easy for the reader to see that Leela's sense of independence and freedom are false--her survival is based on how highly men value her beauty, and all too soon her greatest and only asset will decline and decay under the effects of age and the stress of her dangerous lifestyle. Rapes are alarmingly common, abuse from men is so widespread the women come to expect it, and they even turn knives on themselves in efforts to lure men away from competitors.
The book exposes a dark, raw, festering environment, and although the reader so desperately wants the best for Leela, her future is clear, and bleak.
Of course, it is all too easy for the reader to see that Leela's sense of independence and freedom are false--her survival is based on how highly men value her beauty, and all too soon her greatest and only asset will decline and decay under the effects of age and the stress of her dangerous lifestyle. Rapes are alarmingly common, abuse from men is so widespread the women come to expect it, and they even turn knives on themselves in efforts to lure men away from competitors.
The book exposes a dark, raw, festering environment, and although the reader so desperately wants the best for Leela, her future is clear, and bleak.
sophronisba's review
3.0
This is an interesting character portrait, and it does feed my India fetish, but the setup felt too long and repetitive. Might have worked better as a Kindle Single than as a whole book. Still worth reading if you are as obsessed with India as I am.
punit's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Trafficking, and Violence
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
readmeanything_'s review against another edition
3.0
An interesting read, I appreciated Faleiro's ability to let the lives of Leela, Priya, Masti...tell their stories without the added veneer of morality that so often accompanies this subject matter.
Even though I'm Indian and familiar with the context, greater analysis and contextualisation of the ban, the buildup to it would've really given the latter half of the book more depth and sensitisation.
It is slow going and the narrative voice could've been tighter, but the stories are incredibly compelling and well worth the read.
Even though I'm Indian and familiar with the context, greater analysis and contextualisation of the ban, the buildup to it would've really given the latter half of the book more depth and sensitisation.
It is slow going and the narrative voice could've been tighter, but the stories are incredibly compelling and well worth the read.
pranavroh's review
5.0
This book was excellent. Well researched, evocative and deeply persona - it manages to unearth the harsh realities about living in Mumbai's twilight profession, uneasily straddling the night and the day and living dangerously in the moment. Faleiro's prose is wonderful, her dialogues capture the essence of the broken english and bastardised Hindi used in Mumbai without missing a beat. He characters dominate the underbelly of the city and yet come across as larger than life.
ranaelizabeth's review
3.0
1 star for somebody like me with a anthro/women's studies academic background whose already read four thousand books like this.
4 stars for somebody without the above background.
But regardless, writing was a bit flat and didn't do justice to the story.
4 stars for somebody without the above background.
But regardless, writing was a bit flat and didn't do justice to the story.
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