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A review by sarahc1215
Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars by Sonia Faleiro
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.