A review by optionalobjectives
Delhi by Khushwant Singh

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A history of Delhi, told in violence, sex, wealth, and poverty. I appreciate Singh's tactic of changing narrators by historical period. The actual results are hit and miss - it's generous to say that his attempts at women narrators and characters falls flat. Nonetheless, the main character of the book is not a person: it's right there in the title. And this is an interesting novel through which to experience Delhi's story, told by a range of people from different historical moments. Its ending also strikes me as a somewhat dark warning about political violence in India and in the future... which, at this point, is our present.