Narcopolis

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Jeet Thayil: Narcopolis

English language

ISBN:
978-0-571-27576-2
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4 stars (7 reviews)

Narcopolis is the debut novel of Indian author Jeet Thayil, which was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. It is set in 1970s Old Bombay and concerns opium and its influence. The novel's narrator arrives in Bombay, where he becomes seduced into the opium underground. The story expands to encompass such characters as Dimple, a hijra, Rashid, the opium house's owner, and Mr Lee, a former Chinese officer, all of whom have stories to tell.

3 editions

Review of 'Narcopolis' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I finally got around to reading Narcopolis, and now I get why everyone is making a big deal out of Thayil. The prose and turn of phrase in this book is delicious!

Narcopolis is the journey of the Bombay druggie from the laidback 70's to the manic 90's. We follow the life of disparate characters through the dreamy, soothing high of opium to the frantic rush of 'garad' heroin with a sneak-peak at the new, 90's mania and energy of cocaine/ecstasy.

The twisting, disconnected nature of the story-telling takes some getting used to, but once you learn to flow with the book it grabs you and suddenly you find that hours of your life have just slipped by.

Note: the book is graphic, and not for the squeamish. There were passages in the book where I just wanted to curl up into a ball and stop the images flowing into …

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