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I have very complicated thoughts about this book. On the one hand, there were some very interesting worldbuilding concepts and perspectives of a near-future India. On the other, characters were rather unlikeable and the author used a dialogue-heavy writing style tending toward stream of consciousness—building up a feeling almost of doomscrolling, which may have been intentional but set my teeth on edge nevertheless.

Very readable volume on the ways humans interact with animals, positing that it's when they intrude on our homes, cities, and personal ideas of cleanliness that we call them "pests" and try to make them leave. Looks at a range of vertebrate species and ways we've attempted to save them, kill them, and coexist with them, drawing not only on scientific studies but also Indigenous and other non-Western perspectives.

A wonderfully thought-provoking novel of language, racism, and how academia upholds the machineries of empire. Minus half a star for the queerbaiting.