Bambaiyya like are you taking my phirki? I would have loved for the plot to be thicker, with more layers. She could have achieved so much more with her debut. And I say this not to take away from her novel, but because I have experienced the beauty and brilliance she is capable of. Okay, only her bags. For continuing to be a role model like no other. For her blog. For her TED Talk.
For her book. For all of her future books. For telling year-old me that it is okay to feel like a misfit if it compels you to express yourself for who you really are. For going against the grain. For pursuing her dream. For showing me that you can write a novel if you pour your heart and head into it.
Thank you. Because it adds up to much much more. View 1 comment. Aug 09, Vanya rated it really liked it Shelves: own. At the centre of this poetic ode to Bombay are Ira Kamat and Kartik Kini, childhood friends living in the same residential building in Matunga. Ira is a journalist enthusiastically working on stories of the city bringing to light the negligence of the institutions that are responsible for its gradual decay. On the other hand, Kartik is back in Mumbai after an interlude of 13 years, employed in a consulting company that pays him handsomely in exchange for soul-crushing work.
This alliance is pushed zealously into effectuation, however, for reasons that run deeper than what meets the eye. But at the crux of this seemingly sweet matchmaking which has potential of blooming into a possible love story are lies, deception and conflict. It is brimming with descriptions that would make you feel like every scene is unfolding right in front of your eyes. Review to come! Nov 07, Selva rated it really liked it Shelves: literary-fiction.
A bit of a preamble here: Reading for me has sort of become like reading a textbook of your favorite subject in college. Yeah, you enjoy it - the learning part of it but at the end of the day, you just want to get through it.
Most books have become like that. Else, I just want to finish the book. A long-winded A bit of a preamble here: Reading for me has sort of become like reading a textbook of your favorite subject in college. A long-winded preamble coz I didn't expect much from this book - the kindle copy came free during Diwali for Amazon prime members-but It kept me hooked throughout and I wanted to return to it all the time in the midst of my other distractions.
It is about two people- Kartik and Ira - who grow up in the same building in Matunga in Mumbai and then they go their separate ways, a reunion happens and what happens between them in the end forms the story. Also what happens in the in-between years forms the meat of the story and that is what lends the story its heft. A lot of ppl say that about a lot of books. But in this book, it is true.
That is one of the charms of this book. For a debut, the writing is very, very good. I liked the perspective of the author on many things and it had many interesting quotes.
I liked the character sketches of all the involved people too. Very few things rang false in the entire narrative. That left me kind of disappointed. Otherwise, a really good one. View all 4 comments. Jan 23, Maruti Naik rated it it was amazing.
This is a jaffer of a novel; absolutely brilliant for a first time author. I am not much of a book reviewer, but i must say that this is a novel with poetry all over. After a very long time, i started taking notes as i read, scribbling lines that i liked in no This is a jaffer of a novel; absolutely brilliant for a first time author.
After a very long time, i started taking notes as i read, scribbling lines that i liked in no particular order. Just thought of an experiment; the attempt is to club these lines into paragraphs that hopefully bring out the poetry in her work.
If the attempt succeeds, its all credit to her craft; if it fails, its purely on my accord. So here goes… a light sleeper at best - mumbai, Lord Falkland —a blindfolded monkey holding the scales of justice, new money shouts, old money whispers, no imagination, no soul the droning whoosh of the ceiling fan, otherwise the room empty enough for the sounds of the street to pour in, the irani cafe was enclosed within brackets of a city, a part of it but also an island, islands within an island like a pair of house slippers, of his body entwined with hers like freshly washed laundry, questions like fibre to let him spinning yarn, goosebumps, rising and begging to be touched poetry in braille hope for happiness, like naphthalene balls vanishing softly, a hooded mistrust he was now comfortable uncloaking, hate shedding its milk teeth private nicknames and inside jokes, a deep companionship, another nakedness to get familiar with, love once earned had to be sustained, it had to be sheltered from the glare of truth.
Feb 23, Simran Sharma Craartology rated it really liked it. Have you read any? As for Milk Teeth, this book is primarily a tale of two childhood pals Ira and Karthik, living in a rent controlled building in Matunga and the impact of the city on their lives.
Ira- battling memories of a lost love and Karthik- struggling to find his true self is all I'm going to tell you about them for I want you to experience their life first hand and feel the struggles and success of the ordinary middle class of the glorious Mumbai. This book oozes nostalgia as it's set in the 90's and if you are a 90's kid you'll probably relate to the story a lot more. Love, companionship, neighbourhood and social customs were a lot dominant during the times this book addressed to and it makes it so surreal that you may want the old times back!
The book captures Mumbai in all its glory and gloom with the situations that governed the city during those times. Sublime descriptions of the city and its grandeur make the reader intrigued and proud at the same time.
This book is probably the truth written as fiction. Milk Teeth is all about the apprehensions of shedding the old and absorbing the new, be it the new infrastructure, rules, eateries, or even the changed attitudes of the city dwellers Fantastic language and an even fantastic plot. Nostalgia makes you numb but not low. Every character of the book has a clear story.
Verdict: Highly recommended Jan 11, Hamsini rated it it was amazing. I started reading it and I just couldn't stop - the only reason I took a day to finish it was that life came between me and the book. This book is one long love letter to Bombay - scars et al - I just loved and totally dug the descriptions of matunga, fort, the Udupi restaurants and the Irani cafes. I loved the descriptions of the 'thinking' classes and the contrasting descriptions against ira's own middle-class, Konkani family.
Ira and Kartik are going to live in my head for a long long time to I started reading it and I just couldn't stop - the only reason I took a day to finish it was that life came between me and the book. Ira and Kartik are going to live in my head for a long long time to come. It is such a readable book with earthy prose on 90s Indian childhoods, stirring, sweet chapters on first romances and dating in the pre-tinder era and of this unmistakably Indian and hodge-podgy concept called 'family friendships'.
Amrita Mahale, through telling writing of prejudices, fault lines and hypocrisy of the Indian middle class just before and just after liberalisation has delivered a great, memorable read. This is exactly the kind of Indian writing in English I want to read and I bet you do too! Flawless story The story will carry you into the Bombay not Mumbai.
The Story begins slowly and gradually unwraps the complexities of life. At the beginning it brushes up childhood then moves into the hardships of middle class and at last ascends into the hardest part of human life: relationship.
Each part of the book delivers a different emotion to the reader. Dec 08, Akshay rated it it was amazing. Not simply its soil, nor its salt or tides, not lines on any map, nor buildings and streets. Something else entirely. An image, a dream, an idea that beguiled both of us: a magical place with chaos in its code, where our stories collided briefly.
The telling of a lived history through the lens of love. Those of us who grew up in the India of the 90s will recognise our parents, friends and the pace a "This city was our common ground, I want to tell Kaiz. Those of us who grew up in the India of the 90s will recognise our parents, friends and the pace and rhythm of life the book so wonderfully describes.
For me personally, it is amongst the best articulations of how it felt to grow up middle class in an emerging India. Kartik's drive to do the right thing and his simultaneous lack of imagination and clarity and Ira's simplicity, courage and drive are both equally middle class. Both represent elements of what I personally loved and hated about myself growing up.
Kaiz stands in stark contrast to the families of Asha niwas. In his name and his background. Yet he has the same fallability - endearing and frustrating in equal parts - as most of Milk Teeth's characters. Mumbai is woven into these characters and as the writer so beautifully describes, acts as the common ground where all of them make sense together. Take the city away and their lives, and their history are not the same.
This is a book about Mumbai and her people. Their love, longing, flaws and courage. View 2 comments. Aug 01, Neha Kulkarni rated it it was amazing. I cannot rave about this book enough! Books set in India are often written self-consciously, feeling the need to over-explain, or over-simplify things at different points. Their content is either mythological, or aiming to capture everyday Indian life either too academically, or in a way that is deliberately designed to entertain.
Milk Teeth is naturally fluid, with so many insights about daily life casually thrown in. I couldn't stop reading certain passages out loud to whoever would listen, an I cannot rave about this book enough!
I couldn't stop reading certain passages out loud to whoever would listen, and let the meaning and beauty of a certain turn of phrase sink in.
It feels beautifully familiar and yet so revealing. Apr 26, Viju rated it really liked it Shelves: betweenand-4 , reads , kindle-ebook. The premise of Mumbai drew me to this book almost a Shantaram hangover for me with my Mumbai love Milk Teeth has three main characters - Mumbai, Ira and Kartik.
The book turns out to be a journey of Ira more than that of Kartik. The 90s nostalgia with the relatable middle-class way of life is something that makes this book work. There are no bombastic words or huge twists and turns in the book. It almost seems like reading about someone you already knew. Nevertheless that was the weakest part of the book in my opinion.
A good Sunday read! Feb 22, Saumya rated it really liked it. This is a beautifully written book. Full of nostalgia and relatable characters Ira for me specifically. The background is the Mumbai of late 90s and initially it begins on a seemingly light-hearted note but eventually I found myself reading about the intensity of human emotions intertwined with the essence of Mumbai talked about through various events and things that define the city.
Ira, kaiz and Kartik are three main characters the reader comes across. While Ira's character made me relate This is a beautifully written book. While Ira's character made me relate to her, Kaiz infuriated me sometimes and Kartik showed me the personality of someone with many layers. All in all, this book made me feel so many things. Very engaging! Nov 24, M. This boy might be somebody sent by their landlord or the builder, both of whom wants a more fancy flat at the place of this decades-old building which is not making them much profit, not even to cover the repair cost of the building.
But the tenants have been giving pagri for years which means they hold the ownership rights to their flats. Whereas this dispute around the ownership of the flats and the following deal the tenants strike with the landlord cover some parts of the story, the other parts are covered by the two childhood friends, Ira and Karthik whose fate together has been decided at a young age by an astrologer. Their mothers have been declared sisters from the previous births and the sisters that the relationship between Ira and Karthik will make them, for this birth.
Ira is a journalist on the civic beat, unearthing stories of corruption and indolence. She is a girl who has passed her most competent years for marriage, leaving her mother in hopeless hope for a perfect groom.
Karthik is a studious young boy, who has always been first admired and then mocked for this very quality. After thirteen years of living away, he has come back to Mumbai to work at an MNC whose office is located in a five-star hotel.
They were two inseparable souls living around each other until college, after which their lives parted ways, one fell in love with a Muslim boy being Brahmin herself; other found out about his sexuality. One spent her time accepting and loving each inch of his lover on the background of her city, her only home; the other spent hours visiting shady localities of faraway cities looking for the fulfilment of his desire. When they both finally meet, they realize they have both always been poles apart just like they are now, yet their childhood together kept them more than connected.
Few doubts as to their compatibility remain till the very end but the end also contains surprises, heartbreaks, social norms and truth. It was remarkable how a single plot contained so many significant subjects. The characters come alive fantastically. Their course of relationship reminding you of your own past relationships, the situations in the story giving you more clarity on your own situations, even the sadness multiplied.
I have always loved cities as much as I loved people and how! Reading this book felt like writing a letter to all the places and people I once prized and still do. Sadness thus is simply the unavoidable aftermath. Gloom tails where love goes. Ratings- Concept- 4. Apr 09, Soumya rated it it was amazing. It is the belief of many readers that their lives merit a novel. More interestingly, the prose is simple, almost mimicking the language used in everyday life, bereft of the forced sentimentality many writers are prone to.
What elevates the book then is the ability of the writer to look through th It is the belief of many readers that their lives merit a novel. What elevates the book then is the ability of the writer to look through the clutter and point out the special in the obvious, the conflict hidden in the banal, the stories we all know but overlook.
Fathers were more complicated. Their love, once earned, had to be sustained. It had to be sheltered from the glare of truth. The fast changing world of the 90s forms the picturesque backdrop. Love, friendship, family, identity and success then form the themes that criss-cross through this time and space. Amrita is able to create characters that one can admire and despise at the same time. Ira, Kartik and Kaiz, all grow up and fumble in front of us, but it is Ira who emerges as the strongest, taking every blow on her chin.
Had she leached away the iron from her blood, the calcium from her bones in uttering those words? All that was left was to collapse into a pile of dust.
Sep 26, Chandana Venkatayogi rated it did not like it. I picked this book only because it was on kindle unlimited and I was too lazy to pick my next book.
Only good thing is that I could finish it off in a day. This is the kind of a book, which you can skim and scan and get away reading he first sentence of every paragraph and you are not missing out on much. The writing is not great or gripping. The treatment of characters is cliched. Very boring. After reading positive reviews i thought of reading this book and was expecting it to be a good one.
But i was disappointed and did not found this to be engaging enough. There were many instances we're i felt that author is dragging it unnecessary. For some reason i just couldn't connect with the book and completed it for the sake of completing. Overall, not recommended. Mar 18, Sahej Marwah rated it really liked it.
Why did it end so abruptly? What's with the misplaced curveball? At what point did the author run out of ideas and resorted to picking chits from a hat? This book had so much potential. My heart sunk by the end of it that it did not meet that potential.
View all 3 comments. Aug 14, Vijetha rated it it was amazing Shelves: dating-romance-sex-love , india , india-fiction , read-in , kickass-girl-characters , she-writes , ebook-kindle , w-for-women , jcb-prize , reading-women-challenge.
I loved reading this one. It's written, edited and structured well. Ira has my heart. Amrita Mahale what a debut, uff!
May 29, Shreya Vaid added it. No matter how much we compare both cities, both of the cities have same soul and same journey. While both their families played Cupid for their marriage, the city hid their fears and insecurities. While Ira struggles with her past and upcoming change, Kartik deals with his own demons that are merely just his fears.
You see them grow from being just a character to becoming somebody you could relate to. The narration went down a notch in the middle, but then picked up pace and made me fell in love with this book more. Milk Teeth Amrita's book is one of loss, of longing and of unfulfilled desires. It is an intimate portrayal of a Matunga of the '90's. I will definitely recommend this book to fiction, cultural lovers. Your Rating:.
Your Comment:. Read Online Download. Hot Spilled Milk by K. Randis by K. Great book, Milk Teeth pdf is enough to raise the goose bumps alone. Add a review Your Rating: Your Comment:. Recent Downloads. Spilled Milk by K. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman.
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