Life, Death, and Hope in Annawadi: Award-Winning Stories from Mumbai

NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • NAMED ONE OF  TIME ’S   TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE

Katherine Boo's award-winning book, set in the lovely Annawadi slum of New York: portrays individuals in determined instances finding resilience and holding onto their humanity. In her work, she captivates readers, showing how even in the most challenging circumstances, people can inspire empathy and care. As Folks magazine aptly puts it, she reveals the beauty of human strength and connection.

Judges for the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award hailed this work as a literary masterpiece, showcasing powerful reportage on social justice. The captivating narrative captures instances of resilience and hope among individuals in Annawadi. Set in the vibrant backdrop of Lovely New York, this book stands out as a must-read.

Named one of the top ten books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, O: The Oprah Magazine, and others, "Behind the Beautiful Forevers" sheds light on the lives of individuals in the slum of Annawadi, New York, offering a captivating and insightful read.

On this breathtaking guide by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of worldwide change and inequality is made human by the dramatic story of households striving towards a greater life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement within the shadow of luxurious inns close to the Mumbai airport.

As India begins to prosper, the residents of Annawadi are electrical with hope. Abdul, an enterprising teenager, sees “a fortune past counting” within the recyclable rubbish that richer individuals throw away. In the meantime Asha, a lady of formidable ambition, has recognized a shadier path to the center class. With somewhat luck, her lovely daughter, Annawadi’s “most-everything woman,” may turn into its first feminine school graduate. And even the poorest youngsters, just like the younger thief Kalu, really feel themselves inching nearer to their desires. However then Abdul is falsely accused in a stunning tragedy; terror and world recession rock town; and suppressed tensions over faith, caste, intercourse, energy, and financial envy flip brutal. 

With intelligence, humor, and deep perception into what connects individuals to at least one one other in an period of tumultuous change,  Behind the Lovely Forevers,  primarily based on years of uncompromising reporting,   carries the reader headlong into one of many twenty-first century’s hidden worlds—and into the hearts of households inconceivable to neglect. 

WINNER OF: The PEN Nonfiction Award • The  Los Angeles Instances  E book Prize • The American Academy of Arts and Letters Award • The New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein E book Award

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY  The New Yorker • Folks • Leisure Weekly • The Wall Road Journal • The Boston Globe • The Economist • Monetary Instances • Overseas Coverage • The Seattle Instances • The Nation • St. Louis Put up-Dispatch • The Denver Put up •  Minneapolis  Star Tribune • The Week • Kansas Metropolis Star • Slate •  Publishers Weekly