A review by nanditalaks
Leila by Prayaag Akbar

5.0

This book was a stunner. One of the best works of speculative fiction I have read recently. Prayaag Akbar's chilling tale of a mother's search for her daughter is set in an Urban India that has been pushed to communal segregation driven by hate and the struggles for access to resources, clean air and water. It is a world of walled communities connected by flyovers and protected within geo-domes with a slum of the marginalized people living below them. The dystopian world Akbar builds is disturbingly familiar and frightening. It explores class privilege with subtle references to caste, community and dietary preferences. And the ending was such a punch in the gut. Absolutely brilliant!

P.S - Popsugar 2018 prompt - A book you meant to read in 2017 and didn't get to it