Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a work of nonfiction that reads like a well-researched novel. I was confused by the way readers are privy to the thoughts of the characters until I read the author’s note. I would suggest reading Katherine Boo’s note before embarking on this intimate and moving portrait of life in a slum near the Mumbai airport that consists of ragged huts, a sewage lake, and children and adults living their lives. The people we meet are continually striving and/or scheming to better their lives although breaking through to the “overcity,” as the world of Mumbai outside of the slums is called, remains a seemingly impossible task.
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