{"id":4377,"date":"2019-02-08T13:51:36","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T08:21:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/?p=4377"},"modified":"2020-04-04T13:16:23","modified_gmt":"2020-04-04T07:46:23","slug":"milk-teeth-bombay-brides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thebooksatchel.com\/milk-teeth-bombay-brides\/","title":{"rendered":"Of buildings, food and cultural nuances; Two Books set in India"},"content":{"rendered":"
In January, I read two amazing books. Both revolve around buildings, coincidentally. Esther David\u2019s Bombay Brides<\/em> is the story of different households (and sometimes the friends of the houses) in a housing society. Amrita Mahale\u2019s debut novel, Milk Teeth<\/em> starts off with a society meeting between the residents of a dilapidated building to decide about their future. It is quite rare when books capture the ultimate essence of the community that the story is based on. So these two were definitely a treat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unlike what the title suggests, Bombay Brides<\/em> is set in the Shalom Housing society in Ahmedabad, Gujrat. It is largely a collection of stories, told by women, where a character in one makes an appearance in a bigger role in another. The title comes from the reason that many women from Mumbai (Bombay) came to Ahmedabad by marriage and they were called the \u2018Bombay Brides\u2019. The style of stories of different residents contributing to the bigger narrative reminded me of Elif Shafaks\u2019s The Flea Palace<\/em>, about the tenants of Bonbon Palace, a once stately apartment which is now a flea infested complex in pitiable state.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n