Having just finished reading this book, I am quite unsure of my reactions to it. I enjoyed it, it was different and I loved the different perspective, however there were occasions that I felt like chucking it at the wall. (and as it was on my ereader, that could have been costly)
The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer concentrates on Ruby, a girl living in Bombay (Mumbai as it is now) with a gay roommate and a troubled past. She gets groped on a train, then thrown from it, lands on a live wire, survives, goes to hospital and that's in the first chapter. There doesn't seem to be any time before a massive plot to destroy Bombay kicks in. Her friend is kidnapped, people are out to get her. She meets a hot cop from London and lots of stuff hits the fan.
As the synopsis above suggests, this is a fast paced, somewhat breathless book. Action pings off every other page and I loved its pell mell, hell for leather feel. However it is first person perspective and the perspective is patchy. There are times when the 'angry adolescent' seems like an extremely entitled spoilt brat having a go at mommy, at other moments there are snippets of a deeper pain.
The writing is also patchy, sometimes the dialogue seems a little stilted and a trifle unnatural, even melodramatic.
I would have loved more of Ruby and her relationships, I would have loved to know what made Vikram tick (he was very sexy) I want to know why the confirmation about Braganza was left so late and even why it seemed so odd in the girl's own head.
I will probably re read this book, if only to organise some of the events into some kind of order, but I did enjoy it and it did hold my attention. Will in all likelihood take a glance at the second book in the series.
Readable and worth a look....
***
The Many Lives of Ruby Iyer concentrates on Ruby, a girl living in Bombay (Mumbai as it is now) with a gay roommate and a troubled past. She gets groped on a train, then thrown from it, lands on a live wire, survives, goes to hospital and that's in the first chapter. There doesn't seem to be any time before a massive plot to destroy Bombay kicks in. Her friend is kidnapped, people are out to get her. She meets a hot cop from London and lots of stuff hits the fan.
As the synopsis above suggests, this is a fast paced, somewhat breathless book. Action pings off every other page and I loved its pell mell, hell for leather feel. However it is first person perspective and the perspective is patchy. There are times when the 'angry adolescent' seems like an extremely entitled spoilt brat having a go at mommy, at other moments there are snippets of a deeper pain.
The writing is also patchy, sometimes the dialogue seems a little stilted and a trifle unnatural, even melodramatic.
I would have loved more of Ruby and her relationships, I would have loved to know what made Vikram tick (he was very sexy) I want to know why the confirmation about Braganza was left so late and even why it seemed so odd in the girl's own head.
I will probably re read this book, if only to organise some of the events into some kind of order, but I did enjoy it and it did hold my attention. Will in all likelihood take a glance at the second book in the series.
Readable and worth a look....
***
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