' So in every story, legend fable myth there lies a dollop of the unfathomable and a dash of the riddle and every tale delights in its own existence even if it packs a wallop. And when a loved one is lost in a story’s maze then all the heart’s joy turns to a grief coloured with every hue, and still, there’s no fun to be had.
So these were the shades on their faces when they learned that Ma was missing'

I will admit this book very nearly put me in a reading slump cause it takes pretty much a third of the novel to get anywhere with the actual story. There is a lot of building and building and building until everything finally comes together.

There are a lot of heavy topics in this book such as the partition, transgender issues, and many more grave ones that I won't mention for spoiler's sake, and even such trivial yet important things like familial disputes, social expectations, and conformity. It is so very very desi in its essence. right from Shree's usage of language, the little quips, references to pop culture, wordplay, dark comedy, double entendres, and metaphors; all of which translated with immense respect and need for the preservation of their original significance by Rockwell. For example in the translator's note, Rockwell mentions about choosing not to translate the iconic 'sholay' dialogue in hopes that the reader would search and experience it for themselves to get its vibes. And in one part the writing goes - 'tumescent tumult of tacky tourists' (I appreciate things like that) A lot of the writing may seem eccentric to foreign readers but Indian writers of ye olde have definitely been an inspiration for this piece whilst maintaining its modernist approach.

The writing is... a handful at least for me. The point of view is switching between people and animals and from the past to the present. I don't know why a lot of contemporary writers tend to not use quotation marks and such. It got infinitely more confusing for me to parse through this piece of literature.

There's a lot to the writing. A lot of subtle yet not so much politics of both national and international nature and I know Shree's been getting a lot of flack for it.

' You could say, Oh, what a horrible time this is! and then it will go ahead and make things even more horrible. And no one will say, but these are good days, acche din! Except for the government, that is.'

There were so many moments whilst reading it that I would point out to my mom 'hey hey look this is just like us, our family, our livelihood' and that put a smile on my face.

' The simple thing is this, that a finished product is something that sparkles and glitters. Ask yourself, silly, what shines brighter than a mirage, and is it really false that the ground beneath it isn’t solid and the air above it has no substance? And when we look upon it, do not hope, desire, and poetry spring up within us?'