Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line
Discover the immersive novel longlisted for the Women’s Prize 2020
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4.3 • 12 Ratings
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
'Anappara creates an endearing and highly engaging narrator to navigate us through the dark underbelly of modern India' Observer
'I love this book...I just fell into it' Tayari Jones
We children are not just stories. We live. Come and see.
Nine-year-old Jai watches too many reality cop shows, thinks he's smarter than his friend Pari (even though she always gets top marks) and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Faiz is the one with a job).
When a boy at school goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from episodes of Police Patrol to find him. With Pari and Faiz by his side, Jai ventures into some of the most dangerous parts of the sprawling Indian city; the bazaar at night, and even the railway station at the end of the Purple Line. But kids continue to vanish, and the trio must confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force and soul-snatching djinns in order to uncover the truth
'A heartrending tale' The Times
'Djinn Patrol is storytelling at its best' Anne Enright
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
One by one, children of all ages start disappearing around nine-year-old Jai. Written from his perspective, we learn about the harsh realities of living in an unsafe shanty town always under threat of demolition to make room for hi-fi developments. Third-person sections following the children who have been abducted interweave Jai’s mesmerising narrative of his quest to find them. Deepa Anappara allows the reader to explore hard-hitting issues poverty, sexism, corruption and Islamophobia in contemporary Indian society within the safe space of a child’s mind. A colourful debut novel that is vivid in its description and full of fascinating characters.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Anappara's witty, resonant debut tracks a series of child disappearances from an Indian slum through the eyes of a nine-year-old boy. Jai lives with his friends Pari and Faiz in a slum next to a rubbish dump and the crowded Bhoot Bazaar, part of an unnamed city constantly beset by smog. An opening tale of a local benevolent ghost named Mental introduces the children's shared magical thinking. When Jai and his friends learn that one of their classmates, Bahadur, has been missing for several days, Jai, a fan of police shows, decides that he and his friends will do their own detective work and find Bahadur since the police show little interest in the matter. Jai's carefree nature lends a lighthearted tone to an increasingly grim tale as more children disappear and his team of sleuths find evidence pointing to a serial killer. His quest is aided by Pari's voracious reading habits, which make her the better detective, and Faiz's Muslim faith, which helps them stay on course when his community is blamed for the kidnappings. Interspersed with the trio's investigation are single chapters devoted to each of the disappeared children. The prose perfectly captures all the characters' youthful voices, complete with some Hindi and Urdu terms, whose meanings, if not immediately obvious, become clear with repetition. Anappara's complex and moving tale showcases a strong talent.
Customer Reviews
Soooo good. Not one to miss!
This is an absolutely amazing book (and an even better audiobook). Seriously can not recommend it enough.
It’s got it all — flawed but lovable characters, dark villains, mystery, suspense, originality, humor, heartbreak, culture — and is one of the best, most engrossing books I’ve read in years.
100% read it!