Katherine Boo’s “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity” is a harrowing and meticulously researched work of narrative nonfiction that brings the reader into the heart of Annawadi, a slum nestled in the shadow of Mumbai’s gleaming international airport. This work is a raw and unflinching portrait of a community struggling to survive amidst staggering poverty, systemic corruption, and the often illusory promise of a rising India.
The book, which garnered the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2012, is the result of three years of immersive reporting by Boo focusing on the lives of a handful of Annawadi’s residents.
One of the book’s most powerful achievements is its portrayal of the stark juxtapositions of modern India. The “beautiful forevers” of the title refers to the advertising slogan on a wall separating the slum from the luxury hotels and the international airport, a potent symbol of the vast and seemingly unbridgeable chasm between the worlds of the rich and the poor.
Corruption is a pervasive and suffocating presence in “Behind the Beautiful Forevers.” From the police who demand bribes to the hospital staff who sell medicines meant to be free, every institution designed to serve the poor is shown to be riddled with graft. This systemic decay erodes not only the residents’ meager resources but also their faith in justice and their sense of a moral order.
Comments of the book club members during a wide ranging discussion of social issues in India and the US:
“Very enlightening regarding things we are not aware of in our world.”
“The class system kept characters down.”
“An average of 1,000 farmers commit suicide per year.”
“Desperation and no opportunities.”
“Daily reminder that wealth is not attainable via the view of the luxury hotels.”
Friends of the Dickson County Public Library 