" I really wanted to enjoy this book. I kept reading it despite my misgivings about the structure and was ultimately left disappointed. After the minutiae and intrigue of "The White Tiger", I was expecting another unique Indian tale of poverty and betrayal. Instead, this book provides a series of vignettes that are well written in their own way but lack the depth that made his previous work so engrossing. The last story, of the 55 year old Communist, is a great example: compelling setting, a complex main character but the love story is so rushed that it didn't have time to develop in a satisfactory manner. While the theme of the poor being down trodden by the middle and upper class is common to all stories, this is not enough to keep the whole thing as coherent as it needed to be. Not sure jI will read his next book after this experience. "
— James, 1/22/2014