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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “The novel opens with a seven page, comma-laden, period-free, stream-of-consciousness intro from our opium-stoned narrator that left me literally breathless. It was a little intimidating, but fun, too, requiring me to be a bit more conscientious about my reading. However, don't let this intro...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Another dissapointing Booker nominee. Boom is about drug addicts in Bombay and their complicated lives. No concrete plot. No proper storyline. To be avoided.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“This book is set in Bombay in the 70s, and centres around a group of opium users. It is set in a very seedy world of sex, drugs and violence and the writing is uncompromising and difficult to read at times.
Calla76 wrote this review Wednesday, April 10, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I found this a reasonably quick read but I certainly skipped some sections, as there were some rambly bits. The narration skips around, as does time, so it can be difficult to follow at times. There are some interesting parts of the book - and some of the characters such as Dimple have interesting stories to tell, but there is little plot and it can be hard to read at times.
Overall I quite liked this but I would have preferred it if it had been told in a more conventional way, without the pages-long paragraphs and changes in narrator. This would have changed the tone of the book I guess, but would have made it more interesting to me! ”
“A strange series of stories tied together by the characters' collective addiction to sweet, sweet opium. Take a seat on the dirty floor, grab the pipe, and enjoy the strange tales. Not your traditional book.”
J. Bouquet wrote this review Monday, January 28, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Above all, there is the writing. Poetic, hypnotic, demotic (in other words, full of interesting tics). ”
Karan Deep Singh wrote this review Monday, January 21, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Some brilliant stretches of writing but not truly 'cohesive'”
prctaxman wrote this review Monday, January 7, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A book that's heavy on description and thin on plot. Nevertheless Thayil's prose is addictive and engaging and it's the reason I stuck with the book. The book offers an in depth look at Bombay's drug world - by looking at a tiny microcosm, Shuklaji Street and it's resident pimps, dealers, drug lords, prostitutes and addicts - all connected by narcotics - primarily Opium. The main character Dimple is well fleshed out and intriguing, although not ultimately as mysterious as I imagined. The rest of the cast is true to type and not too interesting, except for Mr. Lee who I found rather beguiling.
Bookaddict wrote this review Monday, January 7, 2013. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
This is not a happy read and can get pretty confusing at times with the way Thayil shifts from reality to descriptions of dreams and hallucinations, but again, his prose is exceptional and sucks you in. Read if you are big on descriptions and don't mind an absence of plot.
My complete review at http://crazygoangirlreads.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/narcopolis-by-jeet-thayil/”“Another dissapointing Booker nominee. Boom is about drug addicts in Bombay and their complicated lives. No concrete plot. No proper storyline. To be avoided.”
Rohan Murkunde wrote this review Thursday, December 27, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“See my review at messybooker.blogspot.com”
Tonymess wrote this review Sunday, November 18, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Not sure what attracted me to this book in the first place but I felt I had to break my self-imposed 'no poets rule' and give it a try. Strangely compelling.”
John Gilchrist wrote this review Thursday, November 8, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“too vague who's who without empathy/identity being established i couldn't really connect to the characters/plot/sense”
Don S wrote this review Tuesday, November 6, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I don't think I can give this book about addicts in Bombay/Mumbai a fair review because I went into it looking for something. There were some moving passages, but not enough to recommend the book based on prose. Dimple was a sympathetic and interesting character, one that I will remember, but the other characters weren't noteworthy or memorable. Thayil tells us the story takes place in Mumbai, but I feel like he failed to create a sense of place for the opium dens, the brothels, the poor neighborhoods.
BookBum wrote this review Sunday, October 28, 2012. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
I give the book points for not romanticizing addiction, it is easy to do that when talking about addicts and in spite of some of the defences offered by the addicts I didn't find that in the book.
It was shortlisted for the Booker so I am sure i didn't give it a fair reading.”
