2.5 This book started off really strong but my the mid-point it had lost its focus and by the end I am not sure the author had any idea what was going on. The descriptive atmosphere was excellently executed, but the characters were a bit flat. The main character, who starts the book with such promise, turns into a sniveling ninny by the end and was very hard to like because of her indecisiveness. This was required reading for a class, otherwise not one I would have picked up on my own. Lukewarm recommendation for others to read. ( )

Well...as has been said elsewhere...I was expecting something a little different. I was very interested in seeing what this new generation of Indian young people, especially women, were going through. The book description says that Anjali, the main character, "quickly falls in with an audacious and ambitious crowd of young people who have learned how to sound American by watching shows like Sex and the City and Seinfeld in order to get jobs as call-centre service agents, where they are quickly able to out-earn their parents". And while to some degree that is true, *Anjali* does NOT get such a job and spends the vast majority of the book living off the generous support of her former teacher, an American ex-pat, waiting for things to happen to her. There are a lot of descriptions of her taking life by the horns but I didn't actually *see* much of that at all. She also spent I thought an enormous amount of time, even after she left home, in "old India" with old assumption and old expectations.

But...I did like it well enough to finish it and it was a reasonably engaging read if somewhat frustrating. ( )

Well...as has been said elsewhere...I was expecting something a little different. I was very interested in seeing what this new generation of Indian young people, especially women, were going through. The book description says that Anjali, the main character, "quickly falls in with an audacious and ambitious crowd of young people who have learned how to sound American by watching shows like Sex and the City and Seinfeld in order to get jobs as call-centre service agents, where they are quickly able to out-earn their parents". And while to some degree that is true, *Anjali* does NOT get such a job and spends the vast majority of the book living off the generous support of her former teacher, an American ex-pat, waiting for things to happen to her. There are a lot of descriptions of her taking life by the horns but I didn't actually *see* much of that at all. She also spent I thought an enormous amount of time, even after she left home, in "old India" with old assumption and old expectations.

But...I did like it well enough to finish it and it was a reasonably engaging read if somewhat frustrating. ( )

Well...as has been said elsewhere...I was expecting something a little different. I was very interested in seeing what this new generation of Indian young people, especially women, were going through. The book description says that Anjali, the main character, "quickly falls in with an audacious and ambitious crowd of young people who have learned how to sound American by watching shows like Sex and the City and Seinfeld in order to get jobs as call-centre service agents, where they are quickly able to out-earn their parents". And while to some degree that is true, *Anjali* does NOT get such a job and spends the vast majority of the book living off the generous support of her former teacher, an American ex-pat, waiting for things to happen to her. There are a lot of descriptions of her taking life by the horns but I didn't actually *see* much of that at all. She also spent I thought an enormous amount of time, even after she left home, in "old India" with old assumption and old expectations.

But...I did like it well enough to finish it and it was a reasonably engaging read if somewhat frustrating. ( )

A very interesting look at old vs. new India, highly recommend. ( )