Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers, by Katherine Boo

Let's face it - for most of us, no matter how interested we are in world affairs, truly connecting with a vastly different environment can be difficult, if not impossible, by simply reading literature.  Much of what is published as non-fiction documentation of so-called 'third world' countries, while meaning well, is dry and lacks the capability to truly connect the reader.  In Behind the Beautiful Forevers, Katherine Boo goes a long way towards bridging these issues by pulling the reader directly into the lives of families living in Annawadi, a massive slum located in Mumbai.

As I write this, I have to resist the temptation to write 'characters', because while the people in this story are very real, Boo has done such an excellent job of including small details, things that only someone truly interested in people and situations would notice, that the individuals almost seem fictional.  Her descriptions are personal rather than clinical-observer, and give the book the feel of one person simply describing the life of another.   In fact, if anything, occasionally Boo is a bit heavy on the description, and the lens is so closely placed on a few characters it is difficult for the reader to experience them in the larger context of the society; this issue is somewhat tempered by the spreading the focus on a few interconnected families, from which the reader can glean some perspective.  Overall, the book is extremely readable.

While the reality of the poverty described in the Mumbai slum, located near the airport in a small clearing between five international hotels, is not especially shocking, what I did find surprising was the occasional intermingling of current technology, and the almost anachronistic presence of televisions, iPods, and the occasional computer in a few of the luckier homes.  Everyone there is within one police bribe, one accident,  or one argument of homelessness and death, and the entire village lives around a lake of sewage,  yet they are in the shadow of unbelievable opulence and international transaction.  This dichotomy, and the Annawadian determination to turn even this to their advantage, is fascinating and uncanny.  What is shocking, and maybe shouldn't have been, was the unrelenting corruption of every person with even the tiniest amount of power, and the casual understanding that any and all money will be essentially stolen and used for alternate purposes; grants meant for orphanages are stolen by front organizations while police and legal officials extract thousands of dollars from people who are framed for crimes, and even locals step on the heads of those around them in an attempt to grasp some small feeling of power.  The need for a feeling of power is so great that the book opens with one family being accused of causing the self-immolation of a neighbor, who had lit herself on fire in an attempt to get back at them for disrespecting her and gain the upper hand in the neighborhood.  Much of the book deals with the fallout of this event for the accused family, and those peripherally involved, and is a complete horror-show of corruption and unbelievable stress.  Death, frequently by suicide, steps out of the shadows to snatch people away, and it's difficult to say whether the violence or the lack of surprise of the community are more distressing.

While it would be easy to say that the point of the book is to illustrate the desperation of those who have nothing to do anything to have something, there is more to Boo's writing than this.  Also present are moments of loveliness, and a demonstration of the tenacity of humans.  Though surrounded by filth, poverty and general hatefulness, people still work towards something more, and dream of an escape that is all but impossible.  One girl takes college classes (the only person in the village to do so) and tutors young village children while watching her aspiring-slumlord mother steal school grant money and swindle everyone around her, another impoverished boy, who works as a trash collector, vows to only accept materials that are not stolen, even though it will cut his already miniscule earnings by at least 15% and jeopardize his family's livelihood.   Sadly, at the close of the book, as both are nearing adulthood, their aspirations begin to be dimmed by their surroundings, which prompt the boy to pray that he had tried to be a good boy, but wasn't sure if he would be able to continue as a man and still survive. 

What are we to do about all of this?  Boo offers no answers or suggestions.  The book simply stops without coming to a resolution on several points, which is a testament to it's current-events status.  It is difficult not knowing what happens to the individuals in the book, because Boo inspires readers to honestly care for them.  Do they continue on in Annawadi?  Do they escape?  How does the remaining portion of the immolation court case resolve?  We don't know.  We can only watch the news to see if Annawadi itself continues to exist, or is demolished in the way of progress as is threatened throughout the book, and know that while it stands, there will continue to be thousands of compelling stories hidden inside.

Rating: four stars out of five.  A compelling, well-detailed account of life in one of Mumbai's largest slums.