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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
4.0
Finally got around to this one that's been on my shelf forever. This is a book that, when rating, I have to consider not how much I liked it, but how much it served its purpose.
There's so much you don't realize about poverty, and especially about the corruption that goes on through well-minded relief efforts.
I guess if this was fiction, it would be akin to a slice of life story where a lot of stuff happens. But as nonfiction/anthropological journalism, it offers a whole lot more insight into the lives we (privileged people) don't think about.
I liked the detail that went into this, and that there was no savior. Things were the way they were, and these people could have been in slums anywhere, but the author chose to focus on a specific story of a specific slum.
I don't know how I felt about this as a book, though. I think I would have gotten more out of it as a documentary. It's interesting as a book, but a lot of it kind of goes over my head. I would have appreciated more visuals, or even some pictures. I don't read a lot of anthropological studies, so I don't have much to compare this too. That said, I thought it did a good job of showing the whole picture. It's not a genre I'd say I enjoy or want to read more of, but definitely something to explore.
There's so much you don't realize about poverty, and especially about the corruption that goes on through well-minded relief efforts.
I guess if this was fiction, it would be akin to a slice of life story where a lot of stuff happens. But as nonfiction/anthropological journalism, it offers a whole lot more insight into the lives we (privileged people) don't think about.
I liked the detail that went into this, and that there was no savior. Things were the way they were, and these people could have been in slums anywhere, but the author chose to focus on a specific story of a specific slum.
I don't know how I felt about this as a book, though. I think I would have gotten more out of it as a documentary. It's interesting as a book, but a lot of it kind of goes over my head. I would have appreciated more visuals, or even some pictures. I don't read a lot of anthropological studies, so I don't have much to compare this too. That said, I thought it did a good job of showing the whole picture. It's not a genre I'd say I enjoy or want to read more of, but definitely something to explore.