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A review by mandi_m
Beautiful Thing: Portrait of a Bombay Bar Dancer by Sonia Faleiro
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