Behind the Boulder Bubble

Boo mainly focused her reporting on one family of fifteen, who live in a Mumbai slum, and the issues surrounding their lives. Their oldest son, Abdul, was wrongly accused of burning a one-legged woman named Fatima. He is trying his best to continue to provide for his family by scavenging around the airport that exists near his home. This airport brings to light the fact that the powerful people in Mumbai did not want to eradicate poverty, but eradicate the known existence of it. Near this airport, was Abdul’s home; however if you were a tourist flying into Mumbai you would never know that. The slum was covered by a wall that oozed “pristine, clean, and rich,” regardless of the opposite of this being true. Behind this wall, Abdul’s family was suffering false trials, poverty, violence, and starvation. His family is only one example.

Boo did an excellent job with this novel and as cliche as it sounds, I felt inspired after reading it. I felt inspired by the hope that the characters in the novel elicited, regardless of their life situations. One of the quotes that resonated with me was, “...Meena’s elder brother arrived home, learned that his sister had consumed rat poison, and beat her for it” (Boo, 188).  This excerpt stuck with me, because of all of the hidden messages entangled within it. In this one quote, the reader can infer the cultural setting of the situation. There is deep rooted sexism and the accidental consumption of rat poison can imply poverty. I was completely shocked throughout this entire novel and am incredibly impressed with Boo's devotion to the truth.

Sources:

Boo, Katherine. Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Random House Trade, 2012

http://www.behindthebeautifulforevers.com/qa-with-katherine/