Across the Lakes by Amal Chatterjee

Across the Lakes

Amal Chatterjee

Easy to read and keeps you turning the pages wanting to know what happens next. I really cared about the characters (and there are quite a few of them) and they stayed with me long after I finished the book. The descriptions of Calcutta are sharp, convincing and very real - almost as good as being there in the flesh.

Extract
Spitting tobacco-stained saliva, Choto cursed his two friends darkly and called to the tea stall for a cup. It was brought over almost immediately, steaming in its chipped glass. On principle, he clipped his supplier, a boy of eight, on the back of the head.
Parallels
  • The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
  • Freedom Song by Amit Chaudhuri