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Small Deaths
A staggering debut novel of murder, loyalty, love, and survival at all costs, set in the teeming underbelly of Calcutta’s most infamous neighborhood.
In Calcutta’s notorious red-light district, Lalee aspires to a better life. Her unfailingly loyal client Tilu Shau has dreams too. A heady romantic and marginal novelist, Tilu is in love with the indifferent Lalee and wants to liberate her from her street life with marriage. But when a fellow sex worker and young mother is brutally murdered, the solicitous madam of the Blue Lotus invites Lalee to take the woman’s place “upstairs” as a high-end escort. The offer comes with the promise of a more lucrative life but quickly spirals into violence, corruption, and unfathomable secrets that threaten to upset the fragile stability of Lalee’s very existence. As Tilu is drawn deeper into his rescue mission, he and Lalee embark on life-altering journeys to escape a savage fate.
As much a page-turner as it is poignant, Small Deaths is a brilliantly drawn modern noir that exposes the reality of society’s preyed-upon outcasts, their fierce resilience, and the dangerous impediments that stand in the way of their dignity, love, and survival.
In Calcutta’s notorious red-light district, Lalee aspires to a better life. Her unfailingly loyal client Tilu Shau has dreams too. A heady romantic and marginal novelist, Tilu is in love with the indifferent Lalee and wants to liberate her from her street life with marriage. But when a fellow sex worker and young mother is brutally murdered, the solicitous madam of the Blue Lotus invites Lalee to take the woman’s place “upstairs” as a high-end escort. The offer comes with the promise of a more lucrative life but quickly spirals into violence, corruption, and unfathomable secrets that threaten to upset the fragile stability of Lalee’s very existence. As Tilu is drawn deeper into his rescue mission, he and Lalee embark on life-altering journeys to escape a savage fate.
As much a page-turner as it is poignant, Small Deaths is a brilliantly drawn modern noir that exposes the reality of society’s preyed-upon outcasts, their fierce resilience, and the dangerous impediments that stand in the way of their dignity, love, and survival.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2021
263 people are currently reading
3142 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
September 16, 2021
A Death In Shonagachhi by Rijula Das, a book longlisted for JCB prize list. It's a Literary Fiction / Literary Noir and no, it's not a murder mystery. The book is a revelation of a community and a place which needs more light and recognition in today's time. The book going to be published in the US as "Small Deaths".
Shonagachhi is a red light district in West Bengal, the story revolves around a sudden death of one of the woman living there named Mohamaya. Lalee, the main narrator of this book takes us through the thick and thin of the lives of women living in Shonagachhi.
I absolutely loved author - Rijula Das's narration and storytelling style. The debut is gripping and you wouldn't wanna stop reading once you get invested in the plot and characters. The book unfolds alot of aspects as well as it's a powerful story to tell the world.
The book definitely has alot of layers to it and feels like in bits and pieces in the middle, but as we come to the end, everything falls into place and I definitely loved the multilayer of politics, love, livelihood, a sense of community and women finding their own way into a world full of evil around.
Tilu, the erotic novelist is a client of Lalee and soon realises he has hopelessly fallen in love with her. The book places a very important role when it comes to breaking taboo and scratching off labels in today's society we live in and I would want everyone to read this book and live the story through Rijula's words.
Shonagachhi is a red light district in West Bengal, the story revolves around a sudden death of one of the woman living there named Mohamaya. Lalee, the main narrator of this book takes us through the thick and thin of the lives of women living in Shonagachhi.
I absolutely loved author - Rijula Das's narration and storytelling style. The debut is gripping and you wouldn't wanna stop reading once you get invested in the plot and characters. The book unfolds alot of aspects as well as it's a powerful story to tell the world.
The book definitely has alot of layers to it and feels like in bits and pieces in the middle, but as we come to the end, everything falls into place and I definitely loved the multilayer of politics, love, livelihood, a sense of community and women finding their own way into a world full of evil around.
Tilu, the erotic novelist is a client of Lalee and soon realises he has hopelessly fallen in love with her. The book places a very important role when it comes to breaking taboo and scratching off labels in today's society we live in and I would want everyone to read this book and live the story through Rijula's words.
September 16, 2021
This is just vanilla. Plain vanilla.
He was calling his invisible target a multitude of names, though most of them were variations on the theme of prostitute . lt's amazing, thought Lalee, how many synonyms one language could have devised and seemed to need for women who sell their bodies for money. We are an expletive a whole population of women connected only by their livelihood reduced to a single word of offence. At least we do what we do, but the ones who don't aren't spared either. At one time or another, every woman is turned into a profanity.
Set in Shonagachhi, the red light area in Kolkata, the story revolves around a prostitute named Lalee and her client named Tilu.
The book starts off with the murder of Mohmaya, who is Lalee's neighbor and ends in something very different all together.
What I liked
1. The writing is easy and accessible, I completed the book in 3 days. A good book for beginners.
2. The backdrop of crime and prostitution sure forms a good base for the storyline.
What I disliked
1. Poor character development. The characters are written in a flimsy manner as if they are in a far off land. As someone correctly said in one of the reviews on GR, the characters are one directional and you will feel no connection with them whatsoever.
2. The plot in itself. I really do not know what the author has tried to do, but sometimes this book feels like a cheap paperback mystery and the other times a highbrow contemporary read. The meaning and the plot of the book is lost along the way and it really put me off.
To be honest, I still don't know who killed Mohmaya 😒 and that's frustrating. Or maybe I am just dumb.
This would have been a 2 star read, but I really liked the backdrop and the writing so keeping this at 3.
In Conclusion
Read it if you have time in your hands.
He was calling his invisible target a multitude of names, though most of them were variations on the theme of prostitute . lt's amazing, thought Lalee, how many synonyms one language could have devised and seemed to need for women who sell their bodies for money. We are an expletive a whole population of women connected only by their livelihood reduced to a single word of offence. At least we do what we do, but the ones who don't aren't spared either. At one time or another, every woman is turned into a profanity.
Set in Shonagachhi, the red light area in Kolkata, the story revolves around a prostitute named Lalee and her client named Tilu.
The book starts off with the murder of Mohmaya, who is Lalee's neighbor and ends in something very different all together.
What I liked
1. The writing is easy and accessible, I completed the book in 3 days. A good book for beginners.
2. The backdrop of crime and prostitution sure forms a good base for the storyline.
What I disliked
1. Poor character development. The characters are written in a flimsy manner as if they are in a far off land. As someone correctly said in one of the reviews on GR, the characters are one directional and you will feel no connection with them whatsoever.
2. The plot in itself. I really do not know what the author has tried to do, but sometimes this book feels like a cheap paperback mystery and the other times a highbrow contemporary read. The meaning and the plot of the book is lost along the way and it really put me off.
To be honest, I still don't know who killed Mohmaya 😒 and that's frustrating. Or maybe I am just dumb.
This would have been a 2 star read, but I really liked the backdrop and the writing so keeping this at 3.
In Conclusion
Read it if you have time in your hands.
September 23, 2021
Nominated for the JCB Prize this year, this novel is a dive into Asia’s biggest red light area.
The story starts when an erotica writer Tilu goes to Lalee, a prostitute he claims to love deeply. But when they are busy doing the business, the woman next to Lalee’s room, Mohmaya, is brutally murdered. Tilu flees the scene and the police arrives.
But this book is not exactly about this murder (as I thought it would be). This book is about the lives different kind lives the people have who lives in the red light district of Shonagacchi. The authors sheds a light upon all the point of views from the prostitutes working there, the police officers who raids regularly, a customer who frequently visits the brothel, the NGO workers who are trying to help the prostitutes.
This part I definitely liked. Getting a peak into the lives around the red light district was interesting. No doubt the prostitutes involved in this part lead a tough life. I sympathized with Lalee and all the prostitutes who had to live the way they did, but at the same time I did not like or get attached to any of the characters in this book.
On one hand, I loved the writing even though it was unnecessarily descriptive but on the other hand I wasn’t a big fan of the pacing. This book was extremely slow paced and all the descriptions were not helping to carry on the story.
I wanted to DNF this book but I kept going on thinking this book would redeem itself in the end but when I finished it after two weeks, I felt underwhelmed and unsatisfied. I already knew this book wasn’t a murder mystery. I didn’t have high expectations for this book and even with the low expectations I had, this book somehow managed to disappoint me.
If you have read this book, please tell me who killed Mohmaya because I sure don’t know and this will gnaw on my conscience for a very long time until I don’t know who killed her.
I don't know whether I'll recommend this book. I will recommend it if you want to know about Shonagachhi but maybe go in with little expectations.
The story starts when an erotica writer Tilu goes to Lalee, a prostitute he claims to love deeply. But when they are busy doing the business, the woman next to Lalee’s room, Mohmaya, is brutally murdered. Tilu flees the scene and the police arrives.
But this book is not exactly about this murder (as I thought it would be). This book is about the lives different kind lives the people have who lives in the red light district of Shonagacchi. The authors sheds a light upon all the point of views from the prostitutes working there, the police officers who raids regularly, a customer who frequently visits the brothel, the NGO workers who are trying to help the prostitutes.
This part I definitely liked. Getting a peak into the lives around the red light district was interesting. No doubt the prostitutes involved in this part lead a tough life. I sympathized with Lalee and all the prostitutes who had to live the way they did, but at the same time I did not like or get attached to any of the characters in this book.
On one hand, I loved the writing even though it was unnecessarily descriptive but on the other hand I wasn’t a big fan of the pacing. This book was extremely slow paced and all the descriptions were not helping to carry on the story.
I wanted to DNF this book but I kept going on thinking this book would redeem itself in the end but when I finished it after two weeks, I felt underwhelmed and unsatisfied. I already knew this book wasn’t a murder mystery. I didn’t have high expectations for this book and even with the low expectations I had, this book somehow managed to disappoint me.
If you have read this book, please tell me who killed Mohmaya because I sure don’t know and this will gnaw on my conscience for a very long time until I don’t know who killed her.
I don't know whether I'll recommend this book. I will recommend it if you want to know about Shonagachhi but maybe go in with little expectations.
Read
August 24, 2021Since there's some debate about the genre of this book, I thought I'd say a few things here.
A Death in Shonagachhi may be called a literary novel, or a literary noir. It is not a murder mystery and not a whodunit. It could be usefully described as an anti- murder mystery. The goal of the book is not to shock the reader with revelations or enthral with a twisty plot. It's an exploration of a community and a city, and their extraordinary everydays. Nothing happens in the plot that hasn't already happened in the real world and reported in newspapers.
I find genres, at best, the narrowest ways to think about a book. There are many that straddle, mix, overlay, and play with genres. As a reader, I've always loved having my expectations subverted.
If you'd like more context for the book, the research, the question of genre and voice and the themes it works with, you may want to check out this conversation I had with Tanuj Solanki:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?...
A Death in Shonagachhi may be called a literary novel, or a literary noir. It is not a murder mystery and not a whodunit. It could be usefully described as an anti- murder mystery. The goal of the book is not to shock the reader with revelations or enthral with a twisty plot. It's an exploration of a community and a city, and their extraordinary everydays. Nothing happens in the plot that hasn't already happened in the real world and reported in newspapers.
I find genres, at best, the narrowest ways to think about a book. There are many that straddle, mix, overlay, and play with genres. As a reader, I've always loved having my expectations subverted.
If you'd like more context for the book, the research, the question of genre and voice and the themes it works with, you may want to check out this conversation I had with Tanuj Solanki:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?...
September 30, 2022
DNF, sadly all the misogyny is killing me. If this is the level of misogynistic attitudes in India I feel for the women under this horrible oppressive system but I just can't keep reading something that is this upsetting. I have to take care of my own mental health.
I will give the writing itself three stars because the author does write well, it's mostly just the subject matter and I don't want to penalize them.
A huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC for my review purposes. This did not influence my review in any way.
I will give the writing itself three stars because the author does write well, it's mostly just the subject matter and I don't want to penalize them.
A huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing an e-ARC for my review purposes. This did not influence my review in any way.
September 6, 2022
My Review ~ 3.5*
Small Deaths by Rijula Das will be published on September 13th with Amazon Crossing and is described as 'literary noir...as absorbing as it is heart-wrenching, holding within it an unforgettable story of our society’s outcasts and marking the arrival of a riveting new writer.'
Small Deaths is a novel that is difficult to place in any particular box. Primarily set in one the more renowned red light districts of Calcutta/Kolkata, it highlights the horrendous plight of sex-workers as experienced through the eyes of Lalee. Lalee was sold off as a young girl to a notorious brothel owner, Shefali Madam, and for years has been plying her trade under horrendous conditions with little reward at the Blue Lotus.
Her most ardent admirer is Tilu Shau, an erotic novelist with dreams of writing a book that the whole world will be talking about some day. A disappointment to his family, Tilu has a vivid imagination losing himself in fantasies of the olden days when Calcutta was a much grander place to live. He found an unexpected niche in erotic fiction which just about pays his bills. His one extravagance are his visits to Lalee, a woman that he is completely smitten with.
One evening the body of a sex-worker is found murdered, her body mutilated, in the room opposite Lalee, while Tilu is there. Under instruction from Lalee he immediately leaves the scene but is struggling with what he saw. Lalee is tormented, scared for her own safety and that of her friends. With the police very slow to intervene, a local Sex Worker Collective steps up, in an attempt to pressurise the powers that be into action.
Lalee is presented with an opportunity to work in place of the dead girl, a promotion of sorts which would require her to work as a more high-end escort. With the promise of a more pleasing lifestyle and more disposable income, it is an offer that Lalee cannot refuse. She needs more money to help her brother and his family and this opportunity comes just at the right time. But Lalee is about to embark on the most dangerous and violent days of her life as the reality of her situation comes crashing down. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lalee, Tilu is searching for her, hoping to finally take her away from the life she lives before it is too late.
Small Deaths is an extremely affecting read. Prostitution is accepted as part of life in certain areas of India and the police generally turn a blind eye. These women are left very much to fend for themselves so the community spirit is strong and the sense of friendship is palpable. They look out for each other where possible but underneath it all, they are all just surviving. The references in the novel to child trafficking are stomach churning. There are no actual images but what's alluded to is sickening and very distressing. It is uncomfortable reading but also necessary to highlight the existence of such a brutal and heinous evil.
Disturbing in content, Small Deaths highlights the day-to-day existence of thousands of women drawn into a life of a sex-worker for whatever reasons. With descriptions that would break the heart of any reader, Rijula Das somehow manages to incorporate warmth and wit throughout, which does add a much-needed lighter tone to some parts of the book.
Small Deaths is an engaging and informative debut raising many important societal issues. It is a gritty and stark read but at its core are courageous and determined individuals who long for a better life, who long for escape.
Small Deaths by Rijula Das will be published on September 13th with Amazon Crossing and is described as 'literary noir...as absorbing as it is heart-wrenching, holding within it an unforgettable story of our society’s outcasts and marking the arrival of a riveting new writer.'
Small Deaths is a novel that is difficult to place in any particular box. Primarily set in one the more renowned red light districts of Calcutta/Kolkata, it highlights the horrendous plight of sex-workers as experienced through the eyes of Lalee. Lalee was sold off as a young girl to a notorious brothel owner, Shefali Madam, and for years has been plying her trade under horrendous conditions with little reward at the Blue Lotus.
Her most ardent admirer is Tilu Shau, an erotic novelist with dreams of writing a book that the whole world will be talking about some day. A disappointment to his family, Tilu has a vivid imagination losing himself in fantasies of the olden days when Calcutta was a much grander place to live. He found an unexpected niche in erotic fiction which just about pays his bills. His one extravagance are his visits to Lalee, a woman that he is completely smitten with.
One evening the body of a sex-worker is found murdered, her body mutilated, in the room opposite Lalee, while Tilu is there. Under instruction from Lalee he immediately leaves the scene but is struggling with what he saw. Lalee is tormented, scared for her own safety and that of her friends. With the police very slow to intervene, a local Sex Worker Collective steps up, in an attempt to pressurise the powers that be into action.
Lalee is presented with an opportunity to work in place of the dead girl, a promotion of sorts which would require her to work as a more high-end escort. With the promise of a more pleasing lifestyle and more disposable income, it is an offer that Lalee cannot refuse. She needs more money to help her brother and his family and this opportunity comes just at the right time. But Lalee is about to embark on the most dangerous and violent days of her life as the reality of her situation comes crashing down. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Lalee, Tilu is searching for her, hoping to finally take her away from the life she lives before it is too late.
Small Deaths is an extremely affecting read. Prostitution is accepted as part of life in certain areas of India and the police generally turn a blind eye. These women are left very much to fend for themselves so the community spirit is strong and the sense of friendship is palpable. They look out for each other where possible but underneath it all, they are all just surviving. The references in the novel to child trafficking are stomach churning. There are no actual images but what's alluded to is sickening and very distressing. It is uncomfortable reading but also necessary to highlight the existence of such a brutal and heinous evil.
Disturbing in content, Small Deaths highlights the day-to-day existence of thousands of women drawn into a life of a sex-worker for whatever reasons. With descriptions that would break the heart of any reader, Rijula Das somehow manages to incorporate warmth and wit throughout, which does add a much-needed lighter tone to some parts of the book.
Small Deaths is an engaging and informative debut raising many important societal issues. It is a gritty and stark read but at its core are courageous and determined individuals who long for a better life, who long for escape.
August 4, 2022
I was intrigued by this book after reading the blurb I was sent.
A book centred around the oldest profession in time, set in the town of Shonagachhi, Calcutta, in India.
We start by getting to know Tilu, an aspiring author of erotica who wants to get better recognition for more literary work. He visits the Blue Lotus in Shonagachhi whenever he can afford it to meet Lalee, his favourite concubine.
A visit there ends with the other inhabitants of the house finding the body of one of the girls who lives among them.
What follows is a tale of true sadness. These women don't choose to be dragged into prostitution; however, once there, they are estranged from their loved ones due to the shame of the work they have been made to do. The other girls become their families. But nothing can stop the way society taints them and how they are looked upon as public property; the johns do whatever they want, and the madams who are there to 'look after' them are just as bad, selling them from one bad situation to another, and not often a better one.
Here, an awful sex trafficking ring is exposed, involving a much-respected 'holy' man. But the violence that is used toward women is horrific.
It made for uncomfortable reading, in some ways, but the sad truth is that these things do happen the world over; it's just that we aren't all privy to the knowledge.
We see the story unfold through several viewpoints, including the above two characters, other girls from the Blue Lotus, police officers, a pimp, and some other random characters, which can be a little confusing but adds another layer to the story.
An interesting but heartrending read.
A book centred around the oldest profession in time, set in the town of Shonagachhi, Calcutta, in India.
We start by getting to know Tilu, an aspiring author of erotica who wants to get better recognition for more literary work. He visits the Blue Lotus in Shonagachhi whenever he can afford it to meet Lalee, his favourite concubine.
A visit there ends with the other inhabitants of the house finding the body of one of the girls who lives among them.
What follows is a tale of true sadness. These women don't choose to be dragged into prostitution; however, once there, they are estranged from their loved ones due to the shame of the work they have been made to do. The other girls become their families. But nothing can stop the way society taints them and how they are looked upon as public property; the johns do whatever they want, and the madams who are there to 'look after' them are just as bad, selling them from one bad situation to another, and not often a better one.
Here, an awful sex trafficking ring is exposed, involving a much-respected 'holy' man. But the violence that is used toward women is horrific.
It made for uncomfortable reading, in some ways, but the sad truth is that these things do happen the world over; it's just that we aren't all privy to the knowledge.
We see the story unfold through several viewpoints, including the above two characters, other girls from the Blue Lotus, police officers, a pimp, and some other random characters, which can be a little confusing but adds another layer to the story.
An interesting but heartrending read.
August 21, 2021
A Death in Sonagachhi mainly follows the life of Lalle, a prostitute working in Asia's largest red light area. On a one ordinary night woman in next room was murdered brutally.
•
I honestly don't know in what genre this book should be categorised, but I saw someone calling it murder mystery so we'll go with that.
•
I know setting sounds unique and intriguing and story in such setting has so much potential, but sadly it wasn't executed neatly. Charecters felt one dimensional and story was all over the place. Some utterly unimportant factors occupied more than necessary amount of pages. If it was a murder mystery, then it was a bad one, because nobody made any effort to search for the murderer (face palm).
•
There are no jaw dropping revelations that'll shock you. It rather felt typical with scam religious maharaj (Yes, Sacred Games). What I personally hated the most was the language. I understand that such local tone was used to suit the backdrop, but it felt awful even in my head.
•
I honestly don't know in what genre this book should be categorised, but I saw someone calling it murder mystery so we'll go with that.
•
I know setting sounds unique and intriguing and story in such setting has so much potential, but sadly it wasn't executed neatly. Charecters felt one dimensional and story was all over the place. Some utterly unimportant factors occupied more than necessary amount of pages. If it was a murder mystery, then it was a bad one, because nobody made any effort to search for the murderer (face palm).
•
There are no jaw dropping revelations that'll shock you. It rather felt typical with scam religious maharaj (Yes, Sacred Games). What I personally hated the most was the language. I understand that such local tone was used to suit the backdrop, but it felt awful even in my head.
November 11, 2021
4.5/5 to be honest. I love the premise of the book. The writing is beautiful and the characters are fascinating. Set in Shonagachhi, the red light district in kolkata, this book revolves around a murder and a sex trafficking scam set under religious premises.
What I loved about it is the insight into the lives of the sex workers in Kolkata, who don't need saving as the world thinks otherwise. Their lives and the women before them are thought worthless in front of the law and even a murder is acceptable to the society.
I also adored how beautifully Kolkata is the backdrop of this novel and how real the whole setup is.
What I loved about it is the insight into the lives of the sex workers in Kolkata, who don't need saving as the world thinks otherwise. Their lives and the women before them are thought worthless in front of the law and even a murder is acceptable to the society.
I also adored how beautifully Kolkata is the backdrop of this novel and how real the whole setup is.
April 11, 2022
Was a very difficult book to read , in terms of subject matter. Would have been 4 stars but for the fact that it all sounded rushed towards the end and many things were left unaccounted for.
Lalee, Moya, Amina, Tilu Shau and many others will remain in my memory for many weeks to come .
How I wish the oldest profession in the world was wiped out ..or existed only if those who practiced were inclined towards it, rather than forced or sold into it.
Lalee, Moya, Amina, Tilu Shau and many others will remain in my memory for many weeks to come .
How I wish the oldest profession in the world was wiped out ..or existed only if those who practiced were inclined towards it, rather than forced or sold into it.
May 21, 2024
The novel attempts to describe the lives of women - both good things and bad - of Sonagacchi, the red-light area of Kolkata, with the murder of a young prostitute named Mohamaya acting as the main plot point. The author herself has clarified on GR that the book belongs to the category of Literary Noir and so not to expect a traditional murder mystery. That is true: Though the perpetrator of the murder is hinted at, the people who are supposed to solve the murder i.e. the police, practically do nothing. They reach the crime scene 3 days after the murder, make some noise, come back n do nothing. A suicide happens soon after and the reaction from the police is ditto. They are hand in glove with the ppl who run the brothels and turn a blind eye unless pressured by NGOs n media. Even the details of the lives of these women doesn't come as revelatory if you have seen movies like Gangubhai Kathiawadi, Chandni Bar, Salaam Bombay etc. Ofc, certain things like how these women are vetted for human trafficking to other countries was interesting. Writing was good. Overall an ok read if your expectations aren't that high.
Rating : More like 3.5 stars
Rating : More like 3.5 stars
July 21, 2024
Nach langer Zeit habe ich wieder einmal bei CulturBooks gestöbert und bin recht schnell hierauf gestoßen: ein Werk, das seinen Mittelbunkt in einem Sexarbeiterinnen-Viertel in Kalkutta hat. Literarisch ist es vielleicht kein absolutes Highlight, aber inhaltlich doch sehr beeindruckend und berührend; sehr dicht und detailreich geschrieben.
September 16, 2022
Rijula Das: The constant smallness of being
Set in Calcutta’s notorious red-light district Sonagachi, Rijula Das’s debut Small Deaths resists lazy stereotypes. Years of research have provided Das with an intimate understanding of the power dynamics at play between the madams, pimps and police, and how their often-cruel manoeuvrings have devastating consequences for the endless stream of girls and young women trafficked into modern-day sex slavery. If their families don’t betray them, a helpful stranger at a train station will. Yet this is not a book without hope, as there are signs of resilience everywhere in Sonagachi. The sex workers live full lives. They have children, build friendships, and sometimes marry. And for many, a locked room in brothel is the only security they’ve ever known.
Now in her late twenties, Lalee was sold into sex work by her family as a child. Her dreams of freedom are tinged with an innate understanding that “hope was a bad survival strategy in Sonagachi.” Beautiful and fiercely intelligent, she has long since internalised her shame: “She couldn’t look in the mirror, its spotless surface too exposing, too confronting for her to endure.” Her loyal client Tilu Shau is also ambitious. Low caste and impoverished, he ekes out a living penning erotic novels while aspiring to write stirring histories of his beloved Calcutta and one day free Lalee from the Blue Lotus, a sprawling brothel run with an iron fist by Shefali Madam.
Following the brutal murder of her friend Maya, Lalee is lured upstairs to work with high-end clients who are willing to pay more money. She soon finds herself in a dangerous world defined by corruption and sexual brutality on a scale she never imagined possible. She will need all her courage and strength to escape Maya’s fate.
Maya’s murder sets off weeks of protests outside the nearby police station and a candlelit march through the streets of Sonagachi. For the NGOs and cooperatives that long to offer the sex workers some semblance of protection and justice, “real crime was about waiting.” Police reports are filed but days and weeks pass by before the authorities bother to lift a finger. While the sex workers’ stories will break your heart, few women in Calcutta escape the daily grind of objectification and degradation: “At one time or another, every woman is turned into a profanity.”
Read my interview with the author Rijula Das on Bookanista https://bookanista.com/rijula-das/
Set in Calcutta’s notorious red-light district Sonagachi, Rijula Das’s debut Small Deaths resists lazy stereotypes. Years of research have provided Das with an intimate understanding of the power dynamics at play between the madams, pimps and police, and how their often-cruel manoeuvrings have devastating consequences for the endless stream of girls and young women trafficked into modern-day sex slavery. If their families don’t betray them, a helpful stranger at a train station will. Yet this is not a book without hope, as there are signs of resilience everywhere in Sonagachi. The sex workers live full lives. They have children, build friendships, and sometimes marry. And for many, a locked room in brothel is the only security they’ve ever known.
Now in her late twenties, Lalee was sold into sex work by her family as a child. Her dreams of freedom are tinged with an innate understanding that “hope was a bad survival strategy in Sonagachi.” Beautiful and fiercely intelligent, she has long since internalised her shame: “She couldn’t look in the mirror, its spotless surface too exposing, too confronting for her to endure.” Her loyal client Tilu Shau is also ambitious. Low caste and impoverished, he ekes out a living penning erotic novels while aspiring to write stirring histories of his beloved Calcutta and one day free Lalee from the Blue Lotus, a sprawling brothel run with an iron fist by Shefali Madam.
Following the brutal murder of her friend Maya, Lalee is lured upstairs to work with high-end clients who are willing to pay more money. She soon finds herself in a dangerous world defined by corruption and sexual brutality on a scale she never imagined possible. She will need all her courage and strength to escape Maya’s fate.
Maya’s murder sets off weeks of protests outside the nearby police station and a candlelit march through the streets of Sonagachi. For the NGOs and cooperatives that long to offer the sex workers some semblance of protection and justice, “real crime was about waiting.” Police reports are filed but days and weeks pass by before the authorities bother to lift a finger. While the sex workers’ stories will break your heart, few women in Calcutta escape the daily grind of objectification and degradation: “At one time or another, every woman is turned into a profanity.”
Read my interview with the author Rijula Das on Bookanista https://bookanista.com/rijula-das/
November 29, 2022
Lalee is a sex worker at the Blue Lotus brothel in Calcutta's biggest red-light district, Shonagacchi. Tilu Shau, her most loyal client and a far-from-bestselling author of erotic fiction, longs to liberate her from the brothel by offering her marriage. His plan is scuttled when one of the prostitutes, Mohamaya Mondol, is murdered. Her death opens a vacancy and Lalee is offered a room on the top floor along with the chance to be an A-category sex worker.
The move promises to catapult her into the big league, a life of luxury, wealth and access. But it only sends her tumbling down into a vortex of corruption and violence controlled by a perverted godman, Maharaj.
An NGO, Nari Shakti Vahini, joins hands with the Sex Workers' Collective to demand justice for the dead girl, even as the police, led by the largely incompetent Samsher Singh, who hopes the to-do will blow over. But then the media picks up the story and Inspector Singh is under pressure to do something.
Will he rise to the occasion? Will there be any justice for the dead girl?
The book is written in the 3rd person omniscient past tense PoV of Lalee, Tilu and Samsher. The title of the book refers to how the French describe an orgasm as a small death. But I also saw it as referring to the deaths of all the people who died and those whose lives were destroyed by the government's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.
The book, set in the aftermath of demonetisation, reminds us of the struggles faced by sex workers, a group of people that no one cared about, when their clients suddenly found themselves unable to pay. The book reminds us how this draconian policy destroyed millions of ordinary lives, costing people untold sums of hard-earned money. The small deaths, even as the government congratulated itself on a decision that killed the economy, refers to the deaths of these people too.
I didn't care much for Lalee, but Tilu grew on me. Tilu has an enduring love not only for Lalee, but also for Kolkata, his enduring muse. He longs to write fiction set in a time before the city was born, but his publisher demands he spend time writing erotica.
I also liked Samsher at the beginning. He doesn't want to be a hero, to save the trafficked girls or clean up the city. He barely has the guts to stand up to his own mother. All he wants to do is to accept bribes and live an easy life. He's not very bright and can barely ask the right questions during an investigation. Unfortunately, his character arc didn't progress at all.
Even though the book is written in English, it captures well the mood and the vibe of the locale, as if English were just another Indian language. The tone of the book is partly critical, partly indulgent. The authorial eye has no patience for Grown men with hands inside their pants...such a commonplace scene in metropolitan Calcutta that no one had paid him any attention.
The writing was good. Sample these:
Creative energy, like a gassy stomach, will make itself known.
We are an expletive; a whole population of women connected only by their livelihood reduced to a single word of offense... every woman is turned into a profanity.
The fact that they built lives and homes there in the midst of their sordidness is described as A mangled, tenuous dignity, one with tread marks all over it, but sometimes even that is a lot.
The subject, which revolves around the trafficking of girls as young as seven years of age, is sordid and can drive one to despair, but the author doesn't let anything get in the way of her story. She also makes the point that sex workers don't always need saving, unless they are minors. They just need space to be, to live their lives without being criminalised, even as the clients get away scot-free.
The author makes a case for letting them live their lives with dignity, and mentions the hatred that respectable middle-class women held in their hearts for prostitutes. People like us who speak out from our positions of privileged innocence.
Even the men who sleep with the prostitutes are not spared by the author. Lalee reflects on how prior to committing the sexual act, some customers wanted to know their names, their stories. Hunting for a story, for a fleshy bit of human tragedy. But Lalee, when pressed in this manner, always gives a fake story. When you lost everything, your name and your story were the only unoccupied country.
I couldn't understand the focus on Vishal Currimbhoy, the husband of Deepa Marhatta, who runs the Sex Workers' Collective. Why were there chapters devoted to him, when he had nothing to do with the plot of the story? Incidentally, Vishal is a Hindu name, and Currimbhoy is a Khoja Muslim name. Yet the author tells us that Vishal is a Parsi, which doesn't sound right.
We are also given a peek into Samsher's life, his relationship with his mother and wife. Again, this glimpse didn't fit in with the plot.
The book began well, and the middle was strong too, but towards the end, it seemed to lose steam. We get no closure on what happened to the seven-year-old twin girls kidnapped at the ashram, and even though Lalee is the protagonist, we feel emotionally invested in those girls. Also, was the godman punished, or did he get away? There were too many questions left unanswered. I was disappointed in the ending.
The move promises to catapult her into the big league, a life of luxury, wealth and access. But it only sends her tumbling down into a vortex of corruption and violence controlled by a perverted godman, Maharaj.
An NGO, Nari Shakti Vahini, joins hands with the Sex Workers' Collective to demand justice for the dead girl, even as the police, led by the largely incompetent Samsher Singh, who hopes the to-do will blow over. But then the media picks up the story and Inspector Singh is under pressure to do something.
Will he rise to the occasion? Will there be any justice for the dead girl?
The book is written in the 3rd person omniscient past tense PoV of Lalee, Tilu and Samsher. The title of the book refers to how the French describe an orgasm as a small death. But I also saw it as referring to the deaths of all the people who died and those whose lives were destroyed by the government's decision to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000.
The book, set in the aftermath of demonetisation, reminds us of the struggles faced by sex workers, a group of people that no one cared about, when their clients suddenly found themselves unable to pay. The book reminds us how this draconian policy destroyed millions of ordinary lives, costing people untold sums of hard-earned money. The small deaths, even as the government congratulated itself on a decision that killed the economy, refers to the deaths of these people too.
I didn't care much for Lalee, but Tilu grew on me. Tilu has an enduring love not only for Lalee, but also for Kolkata, his enduring muse. He longs to write fiction set in a time before the city was born, but his publisher demands he spend time writing erotica.
I also liked Samsher at the beginning. He doesn't want to be a hero, to save the trafficked girls or clean up the city. He barely has the guts to stand up to his own mother. All he wants to do is to accept bribes and live an easy life. He's not very bright and can barely ask the right questions during an investigation. Unfortunately, his character arc didn't progress at all.
Even though the book is written in English, it captures well the mood and the vibe of the locale, as if English were just another Indian language. The tone of the book is partly critical, partly indulgent. The authorial eye has no patience for Grown men with hands inside their pants...such a commonplace scene in metropolitan Calcutta that no one had paid him any attention.
The writing was good. Sample these:
Creative energy, like a gassy stomach, will make itself known.
We are an expletive; a whole population of women connected only by their livelihood reduced to a single word of offense... every woman is turned into a profanity.
The fact that they built lives and homes there in the midst of their sordidness is described as A mangled, tenuous dignity, one with tread marks all over it, but sometimes even that is a lot.
The subject, which revolves around the trafficking of girls as young as seven years of age, is sordid and can drive one to despair, but the author doesn't let anything get in the way of her story. She also makes the point that sex workers don't always need saving, unless they are minors. They just need space to be, to live their lives without being criminalised, even as the clients get away scot-free.
The author makes a case for letting them live their lives with dignity, and mentions the hatred that respectable middle-class women held in their hearts for prostitutes. People like us who speak out from our positions of privileged innocence.
Even the men who sleep with the prostitutes are not spared by the author. Lalee reflects on how prior to committing the sexual act, some customers wanted to know their names, their stories. Hunting for a story, for a fleshy bit of human tragedy. But Lalee, when pressed in this manner, always gives a fake story. When you lost everything, your name and your story were the only unoccupied country.
I couldn't understand the focus on Vishal Currimbhoy, the husband of Deepa Marhatta, who runs the Sex Workers' Collective. Why were there chapters devoted to him, when he had nothing to do with the plot of the story? Incidentally, Vishal is a Hindu name, and Currimbhoy is a Khoja Muslim name. Yet the author tells us that Vishal is a Parsi, which doesn't sound right.
We are also given a peek into Samsher's life, his relationship with his mother and wife. Again, this glimpse didn't fit in with the plot.
The book began well, and the middle was strong too, but towards the end, it seemed to lose steam. We get no closure on what happened to the seven-year-old twin girls kidnapped at the ashram, and even though Lalee is the protagonist, we feel emotionally invested in those girls. Also, was the godman punished, or did he get away? There were too many questions left unanswered. I was disappointed in the ending.
October 25, 2022
Small Deaths was a difficult read. The novel was set in Calcutta and much of the story included language from the customs of the area. While I have read books about India in the past that also included much of the native language, I found that the number of customs included was beyond normal. This bothered me only because I was constantly using the dictionary or Wikipedia to determine meaning for a clearer understanding. This interrupted the flow of the novel. The story was disconnected and didn't really summarize any one single thought. Small Deaths was not a novel I would consider purchasing.
#thankyouGoodreadsfortheopportunitytoreadthisnovelandlearnmoreaboutIndianculture
#thankyouGoodreadsfortheopportunitytoreadthisnovelandlearnmoreaboutIndianculture
Read
May 8, 2023No rating for this one. I DNFed at about 20%. I just couldn't get into it.
February 7, 2023
DNF at 13%
October 25, 2022
This is not an easy read as this story touches on the sex-workers in infamous red light districts of Calcutta. Despite this being a fiction, the author did not shy away from the horrendous conditions and experiences from these sex workers that are very real. It is an uncomfortable read but also important to highlight the reality of such cruelty.
Lalee was sold off as a young girl to a brothel owner, Shefali at Blue Lotus. She had been forced to sell herself under horrendous conditions with little rewards and Lalee longs to be free and live a better life. Despite this, she had a favourite client, Tilu, who was an erotic novelist looking for inspiration in Blue Lotus by spending time with Lalee. When a fellow sex worker was found brutally murdered, Lalee was instantly offered to take over her place with promise of a more lucrative life but it all comes at a cost and that cost could very well be Lalee’s life.
Reading this allowed me to see how prostitution is accepted as a way of life in certain parts of India and how people are so desensitized by the abuse, power dynamics, corruption and shame faced by these women. There is no support from the community as authorities chose to turn a blind eye as long as they are paid. These women are left to fend for themselves, helpless with no way out. They can only rely on each other for support not matter how small, the sense of camaraderie and friendship is welcoming.
As much as these women look out for each other, they all also have one goal in mind - to survive. Let’s not forget these women were trafficked as a children and have been groomed and abused ever since. It’s sickening and frustrating to know their lives and future have been blatantly taken away from them.
Despite feeling hopeless, these women shows signs of strength and resilience. They still try to live their lives to the fullest. They still try to seek normalcy amongst their misfortune and most of all, they dare to dream.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for the arc.
Lalee was sold off as a young girl to a brothel owner, Shefali at Blue Lotus. She had been forced to sell herself under horrendous conditions with little rewards and Lalee longs to be free and live a better life. Despite this, she had a favourite client, Tilu, who was an erotic novelist looking for inspiration in Blue Lotus by spending time with Lalee. When a fellow sex worker was found brutally murdered, Lalee was instantly offered to take over her place with promise of a more lucrative life but it all comes at a cost and that cost could very well be Lalee’s life.
Reading this allowed me to see how prostitution is accepted as a way of life in certain parts of India and how people are so desensitized by the abuse, power dynamics, corruption and shame faced by these women. There is no support from the community as authorities chose to turn a blind eye as long as they are paid. These women are left to fend for themselves, helpless with no way out. They can only rely on each other for support not matter how small, the sense of camaraderie and friendship is welcoming.
As much as these women look out for each other, they all also have one goal in mind - to survive. Let’s not forget these women were trafficked as a children and have been groomed and abused ever since. It’s sickening and frustrating to know their lives and future have been blatantly taken away from them.
Despite feeling hopeless, these women shows signs of strength and resilience. They still try to live their lives to the fullest. They still try to seek normalcy amongst their misfortune and most of all, they dare to dream.
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Crossing for the arc.
November 27, 2021
In his well known essay titled Why I Write, George Orwell said that good prose is like a window pane. It tells a story without drawing attention to itself, and therein lies the genius of Rijula Das. Her writing is clear as crystal, it sets a stage, it creates these well-sketched out characters, it sets a pace and takes the reader along for a ride. However, it also sets up very high expectations from a story that concludes in just under three hundred pages and feels unfinished.
Set in Shonagachhi, the famous red-light district of Kolkata, what the book gets right, without providing any outright answers, is the debate between rescue and rehabilitation of sex-workers vs legalisation and unionisation of prostitution. It also gets right the hierarchy of the trade and the complicity of the system. And despite the whole window pane theory, you can’t miss the humour in certain situations.
Lalee’s ambition of being promoted to a better-paid ‘escort’, Tilu’s love for writing erotica, for the rich cultural history of Kolkata and most of all for Lalee, Samsher Singh’s fixed notions of what a man’s job is, what a policeman’s job is, what a wife’s job is and the type of women (English speaking, privileged) who challenge his authority, these are some fascinating characters that you want to spend more time with. So much unrealised potential.
What also fails the book is its marketing, which hints at this being a murder mystery, among other things. It is all the other things, and it has two mysterious murders, but in the absence of a denouement, a murder mystery this is NOT. And if you’re a reader who needs a resolution, you might just fling the book across the room rather than stare wistfully into space as you turn the last page, hoping for a better future for Lalee and Tilu. If you’re like me, you might do both.
Set in Shonagachhi, the famous red-light district of Kolkata, what the book gets right, without providing any outright answers, is the debate between rescue and rehabilitation of sex-workers vs legalisation and unionisation of prostitution. It also gets right the hierarchy of the trade and the complicity of the system. And despite the whole window pane theory, you can’t miss the humour in certain situations.
Lalee’s ambition of being promoted to a better-paid ‘escort’, Tilu’s love for writing erotica, for the rich cultural history of Kolkata and most of all for Lalee, Samsher Singh’s fixed notions of what a man’s job is, what a policeman’s job is, what a wife’s job is and the type of women (English speaking, privileged) who challenge his authority, these are some fascinating characters that you want to spend more time with. So much unrealised potential.
What also fails the book is its marketing, which hints at this being a murder mystery, among other things. It is all the other things, and it has two mysterious murders, but in the absence of a denouement, a murder mystery this is NOT. And if you’re a reader who needs a resolution, you might just fling the book across the room rather than stare wistfully into space as you turn the last page, hoping for a better future for Lalee and Tilu. If you’re like me, you might do both.
January 13, 2025
If you judge the book by the title alone and go into it expecting the usual murder mystery, you will be disappointed. The story does not have the breezy format of a whodunnit, or a satisfying resolution in which the culprit is detected, apprehended, and punished. For those who live in islands of ostracization like Shonagachhi in the middle of the city, danger lurks everywhere, and the violence never truly ends.
The story paints a heartbreaking picture of the precarious nature of the lives of the sex workers, yet it is not about their misery. These characters have agency, and even as Das’s mockingly witty tone describes the grit and grime, the small and big ways in which they rescue themselves are celebrated with unironic joy. Deepa, the social worker, is in a supporting role – she helps these brave and resilient women rescue themselves, even as larger questions remain unresolved. This is a refreshing change from the unidimensional ridicule that is often directed towards social workers in literary fiction, which seems to assume that contemptuous indifference is better than attempting to understand and change.
The city of Kolkata, dour and splendid, violent and squalid, is present on every page. The book's sensual prose vividly evokes the nooks and crannies, bylanes and highways of Kolkata as it strings its past and present together in a skilful orchestra. You can almost experience the sights and smells of Tilu’s ramshackle room, and see the hoardings outside. Tilu and his complicated relationship with the city are reminiscent of the old Bengali classics, achieving a combination of realism and nostalgia that I had never thought possible in a contemporary English novel.
The story paints a heartbreaking picture of the precarious nature of the lives of the sex workers, yet it is not about their misery. These characters have agency, and even as Das’s mockingly witty tone describes the grit and grime, the small and big ways in which they rescue themselves are celebrated with unironic joy. Deepa, the social worker, is in a supporting role – she helps these brave and resilient women rescue themselves, even as larger questions remain unresolved. This is a refreshing change from the unidimensional ridicule that is often directed towards social workers in literary fiction, which seems to assume that contemptuous indifference is better than attempting to understand and change.
The city of Kolkata, dour and splendid, violent and squalid, is present on every page. The book's sensual prose vividly evokes the nooks and crannies, bylanes and highways of Kolkata as it strings its past and present together in a skilful orchestra. You can almost experience the sights and smells of Tilu’s ramshackle room, and see the hoardings outside. Tilu and his complicated relationship with the city are reminiscent of the old Bengali classics, achieving a combination of realism and nostalgia that I had never thought possible in a contemporary English novel.
September 28, 2022
This is a work of fiction, but it also an account of the lives of the women of Sonargachhi. Most of us on the outside have a rather naive version of prostitution, the rights of prostitutes, and how the "problem" of protitution can be solved. Rescue, Retrain, Rehabilitate is a mantra that sounds very attractive to us, because we think that by doing so we are giving women a chance at a 'better' life. But is that the solution?
Sonargachhi, unlike other red light districts, unionised. Women demanded that sex work be recognised as regular work, and fought for the rights that workers in other industries enjoy.
This book took us into that world. It showed us that words like "choice" which we very conveniently throw around do not have much meaning. That choice is often from a limited pool of options, and what we consider lack of choice may not be what the other person thinks of the same way.
It was not an easy book to read, but it was a necessary read!
Sonargachhi, unlike other red light districts, unionised. Women demanded that sex work be recognised as regular work, and fought for the rights that workers in other industries enjoy.
This book took us into that world. It showed us that words like "choice" which we very conveniently throw around do not have much meaning. That choice is often from a limited pool of options, and what we consider lack of choice may not be what the other person thinks of the same way.
It was not an easy book to read, but it was a necessary read!
June 5, 2025
‘’ Le nombre de synonymes qu’une même langue peut inventer pour parler de nous. Toute une population liée seulement par son gagne-pain, réduite à une injure. Au moins, nous, on fait ce qu’on fait, mais même les autres en sont affublées. Toutes les femmes sont tôt ou tard transformées en obscénité.’’
J’ai loué se livre sans en avoir entendu parler, sans avoir lu le résumé, par une simple impulsion du moment et franchement, je ne le regrette pas! J’ai adoré, un immense coup de cœur. En se moment je donne 5 étoiles à tout, c’est un problème parce que ce livre qui le mérite réellement, se noie parmi pleins de faux 5 étoiles.
Rijula Das a dressé le portrait sans artifice des parias de la société indienne, des jugements et préjugés auquel elles font face, mais aussi de leur résilience et de leur solidarité. Une féroce force au travers des obstacles dangereux sur le chemin de leur dignité. On est transporté dans un quartier que je ne connaissais pas du tout, Sonogachi, le quartier le plus chaud de Calcutta, le quartier le plus dangereux d’Inde et comportant le plus de travailleuse du sexe d’Asie. L’autrice va y peindre le portrait bien dure du quartier, avec le rapport des filles et de leurs maquerelles, les proxénètes et la polices ainsi que les conséquences du trafique sexuelles sur les victimes tout cela sans les cliché et préjugé habituelle. Elle n’y mettait pas de jugement, au contraire, elle était du côté des filles et montrait très bien leur réalité. Montrer que oui, elles peuvent se sentir chez elle à Sonogachi et dans leur travaille, sentir que ce milieu est leur maison, leur famille.
L’intrigue principale tourne certes autour du meurtre barbare de Maya, mais à aucun cas ce livre est un polar, à aucun moment j’ai lu ce livre dans le but de savoir qui avait tué Maya. J’aurai pu finir le livre sans le savoir et le résultat aurait été le même, car l’important n’était pas qui l’avait tué ou comment elle était morte, mais la réaction des gens et le silence de la police. L’important était de nous montrer comme la violence a été banalisé. On va bien voir le POV du policier, mais ce n’est pas vraiment pour montrer l’évolution de l’enquête et plus pour démontrer l’indifférence des forces policière et du mépris qu’ils portent envers les femmes en général (y compris la sienne et sa mère en vrai). Un bon livre pour être encore plus ACAB. Je pense même que le livre se termine sans que jamais le policier sache se qui est arriver à Maya. Il fait seulement semblant d’enquêter parce que les filles font des grosses manifestations devant le poste et que son supérieur veux les calmer. On n’a jamais un coupable net, on dénonce un système plus qu’un individue.
On va parler des parias indiens en nous montrant des personnages fort et attachant (sauf pour le policier qui est là pour être méprisant et fait très bien son rôle), tous les personnages féminins aborder vont m’avoir charmé par leur résilience, leur force et leur solidarité. Que sa soit les travailleuse social Deepa et Malini, Maya, Lalee, Sonia ou Amina elles étaient tous captivante et très bien développé, là où sa se gâchait, était pour les personnage masculin, certes plus rare. Que ça soit le pathétique Tilu ou le méga problématique Shamsher Singh, ils montraient bien comment les hommes de ce milieu voit les femmes, comme des possessions. Qu’ils veuillent les possédés par amour ou qu’ils pensent que leur vie vaut moins et qu’elles appartiennent à qui les possèdent, leurs opinions sont dénoncées par leur pathétisme.
J’ai adoré Lalee, une travailleuse du sex, acheter par le réseau du trafique humain lorsqu’elle n’était qu’enfant, au caractère bien trempé qui suite à la mort de son amie va se voir offrir une promotion dans la maison close où elle travaille, mais plus d’argent veux aussi dire plus de danger. J’ai aussi adoré Sonia, si au début j’avais un peu de la difficulté à la comprendre et qu’elle semblait méchante, on comprend qu’elle agit ainsi pour se protéger et qu’elle est aussi blesser que tout les autres. Elle est une spectaculaire travailleuse du sexe ouzbek plutôt intimidante qui utilise sa force pour garder la tête haute dans se milieu et semble être associer à un maquereau minable. Elle est énigmatique et malgré qu’elle priorise sa vie, va quand même essayer d’aider Lalee à sa manière.
On nous montre un portrait vivant de se quartier avec des guides qui vont nous mener dans les rues et nous faire visualiser ce coin de l’Inde que je n’avais jamais entendu parler et que pourtant maintenant, j’ai l’impression de pouvoir visualiser. Bien que l’enquête reste confuse et que le livre ne se termine pas sur une conclusion palpable, l’atmosphère froissant de Calcutta est passionnante. J’avais vraiment l’impression d’y être. L’autrice utilise un ton sarcastique et brutal et n’a pas peur de dire les vrais choses et de mettre à nu la cruauté sexiste qui y règne. Un ouvrage dur et féministe. J’ai quand même bien aimé la fin, même si on n’a pas vraiment l’impression de finir aucune des histoires entamer, car elle avait du réaliste. Le sort des filles de Sonogashi n’est effectivement pas réglé, c’est une histoire qui va se répéter. Une fin heureuse aurait été irréaliste et aurait briser le message, personne va miraculeusement sauver les filles et ce n’est ni ce qu’elles ne veulent ni ce qui faut. Il faut un changement dans la société. La fin est une bonne continuité du message et de l’histoire, dure, mais poignant.
L’autrice va ainsi rendre la dignité à une communauté et donner une voix à ses femmes. Les humanisé, elles ont des enfants, nouent des amitiés, sont attachées à leur chambre, car c’est le seul endroit vraiment à elle, manifestent devant le commissariat pour les leurs… C’est un dur roman, mais qui montre bien la résistance. Je recommande vraiment, c’était super intéressant et m’a fait vivre une large gamme d’émotion! Mérite un plus grand succès! C’était super bien écrit.
J’ai loué se livre sans en avoir entendu parler, sans avoir lu le résumé, par une simple impulsion du moment et franchement, je ne le regrette pas! J’ai adoré, un immense coup de cœur. En se moment je donne 5 étoiles à tout, c’est un problème parce que ce livre qui le mérite réellement, se noie parmi pleins de faux 5 étoiles.
Rijula Das a dressé le portrait sans artifice des parias de la société indienne, des jugements et préjugés auquel elles font face, mais aussi de leur résilience et de leur solidarité. Une féroce force au travers des obstacles dangereux sur le chemin de leur dignité. On est transporté dans un quartier que je ne connaissais pas du tout, Sonogachi, le quartier le plus chaud de Calcutta, le quartier le plus dangereux d’Inde et comportant le plus de travailleuse du sexe d’Asie. L’autrice va y peindre le portrait bien dure du quartier, avec le rapport des filles et de leurs maquerelles, les proxénètes et la polices ainsi que les conséquences du trafique sexuelles sur les victimes tout cela sans les cliché et préjugé habituelle. Elle n’y mettait pas de jugement, au contraire, elle était du côté des filles et montrait très bien leur réalité. Montrer que oui, elles peuvent se sentir chez elle à Sonogachi et dans leur travaille, sentir que ce milieu est leur maison, leur famille.
L’intrigue principale tourne certes autour du meurtre barbare de Maya, mais à aucun cas ce livre est un polar, à aucun moment j’ai lu ce livre dans le but de savoir qui avait tué Maya. J’aurai pu finir le livre sans le savoir et le résultat aurait été le même, car l’important n’était pas qui l’avait tué ou comment elle était morte, mais la réaction des gens et le silence de la police. L’important était de nous montrer comme la violence a été banalisé. On va bien voir le POV du policier, mais ce n’est pas vraiment pour montrer l’évolution de l’enquête et plus pour démontrer l’indifférence des forces policière et du mépris qu’ils portent envers les femmes en général (y compris la sienne et sa mère en vrai). Un bon livre pour être encore plus ACAB. Je pense même que le livre se termine sans que jamais le policier sache se qui est arriver à Maya. Il fait seulement semblant d’enquêter parce que les filles font des grosses manifestations devant le poste et que son supérieur veux les calmer. On n’a jamais un coupable net, on dénonce un système plus qu’un individue.
On va parler des parias indiens en nous montrant des personnages fort et attachant (sauf pour le policier qui est là pour être méprisant et fait très bien son rôle), tous les personnages féminins aborder vont m’avoir charmé par leur résilience, leur force et leur solidarité. Que sa soit les travailleuse social Deepa et Malini, Maya, Lalee, Sonia ou Amina elles étaient tous captivante et très bien développé, là où sa se gâchait, était pour les personnage masculin, certes plus rare. Que ça soit le pathétique Tilu ou le méga problématique Shamsher Singh, ils montraient bien comment les hommes de ce milieu voit les femmes, comme des possessions. Qu’ils veuillent les possédés par amour ou qu’ils pensent que leur vie vaut moins et qu’elles appartiennent à qui les possèdent, leurs opinions sont dénoncées par leur pathétisme.
J’ai adoré Lalee, une travailleuse du sex, acheter par le réseau du trafique humain lorsqu’elle n’était qu’enfant, au caractère bien trempé qui suite à la mort de son amie va se voir offrir une promotion dans la maison close où elle travaille, mais plus d’argent veux aussi dire plus de danger. J’ai aussi adoré Sonia, si au début j’avais un peu de la difficulté à la comprendre et qu’elle semblait méchante, on comprend qu’elle agit ainsi pour se protéger et qu’elle est aussi blesser que tout les autres. Elle est une spectaculaire travailleuse du sexe ouzbek plutôt intimidante qui utilise sa force pour garder la tête haute dans se milieu et semble être associer à un maquereau minable. Elle est énigmatique et malgré qu’elle priorise sa vie, va quand même essayer d’aider Lalee à sa manière.
On nous montre un portrait vivant de se quartier avec des guides qui vont nous mener dans les rues et nous faire visualiser ce coin de l’Inde que je n’avais jamais entendu parler et que pourtant maintenant, j’ai l’impression de pouvoir visualiser. Bien que l’enquête reste confuse et que le livre ne se termine pas sur une conclusion palpable, l’atmosphère froissant de Calcutta est passionnante. J’avais vraiment l’impression d’y être. L’autrice utilise un ton sarcastique et brutal et n’a pas peur de dire les vrais choses et de mettre à nu la cruauté sexiste qui y règne. Un ouvrage dur et féministe. J’ai quand même bien aimé la fin, même si on n’a pas vraiment l’impression de finir aucune des histoires entamer, car elle avait du réaliste. Le sort des filles de Sonogashi n’est effectivement pas réglé, c’est une histoire qui va se répéter. Une fin heureuse aurait été irréaliste et aurait briser le message, personne va miraculeusement sauver les filles et ce n’est ni ce qu’elles ne veulent ni ce qui faut. Il faut un changement dans la société. La fin est une bonne continuité du message et de l’histoire, dure, mais poignant.
L’autrice va ainsi rendre la dignité à une communauté et donner une voix à ses femmes. Les humanisé, elles ont des enfants, nouent des amitiés, sont attachées à leur chambre, car c’est le seul endroit vraiment à elle, manifestent devant le commissariat pour les leurs… C’est un dur roman, mais qui montre bien la résistance. Je recommande vraiment, c’était super intéressant et m’a fait vivre une large gamme d’émotion! Mérite un plus grand succès! C’était super bien écrit.
October 6, 2023
DNF @51%. Sorry mom.
September 6, 2023
Small lives so often turn to small deaths, especially in Calcutta’s red light district, where girls are products rather than people. They are brought as children, knowing nothing else, dying without leaving any mark whatsoever of their existence
Lateen was sold by her parents. She hardly remembers them, and has lived her life following orders and seething inside. The world regards her as disgusting, the police ignore her, pimps hustle and make money, religious figures exploit her, NGO’s try to help. When a murder occurs in the room next door, Lalee’s world becomes something, no longer nothing. Never again
Intricate, intriguing plot, fascinating characters. Great writing
Lateen was sold by her parents. She hardly remembers them, and has lived her life following orders and seething inside. The world regards her as disgusting, the police ignore her, pimps hustle and make money, religious figures exploit her, NGO’s try to help. When a murder occurs in the room next door, Lalee’s world becomes something, no longer nothing. Never again
Intricate, intriguing plot, fascinating characters. Great writing
September 30, 2021
I was very hyped , when I picked up this book, but to be honest, i was disappointed. This book felt like it was a struggle. It was just a commentary on the life’s on the people in and closely associated with the red light area.
The book could have been descriptive along with some elements of a triller, I guess that is what would have made it better.
The book could have been descriptive along with some elements of a triller, I guess that is what would have made it better.
March 14, 2022
Loved this book! Full review coming soon.
August 29, 2022
Small Deaths is a very challenging book that takes readers to a darker heart of Kolkata (Calcutta), a side of the city that is seldom portrayed in literature. Whilst I know that poverty exists on a very wide scale within India, I have never really thought about the women who are forced into a position of having to sell themselves in order to survive.
This is seldom a life choice, many having been sold into the ‘trade’ by family, or being drawn into the life having been left with no other options. In this book we are drawn into the life of one such woman, Lalee, sold by her family at a very young age and who know faces a very uncertain future having been given a chance at what is being sold at a more ‘exclusive’ set of clientele, but in truth is anything but. We also meet, Tilu, an erotic novelist who aspires to writing something better and being able to take Lalee away from her current life.
The book is hard to read at times, that stark truth of what is happening laid out for all to see. Whilst we are not necessarily present for the most depraved moments, what happens is far from ambiguous and the implications of what is being read, topics of what is clearly child abuse, trafficking and worse, forming a key part of the narrative, even if not explicitly. There is also the murder of one of the sex workers, one of the catalysts for what is to follow, and an examination of some of the people who work in associations that are meant to be helping the women away from the life.
The futility of this latter action are spelled out on the page. The fact that for many this is the only life they know, and the other women around them the only family they know. Whilst we may all expect them to want more, the reality is that most cannot have that which gives the story a kind of tragic, almost melancholy edge. There are moments of hope in amongst the tragedy, but they are fleeting, the author not seeking to either glamourise their situation of over simplify their plight. The truth is start - for many there will be no happy ending and death is perhaps their only release, although hopefully not as brutal as some of that depicted in the book.
A harsh, candid and yet compelling story of survival and defiance, that kept my attention to the last page. If you want to understand the other side of one of India’s largest cities, and to see a real story of resilience and one woman’s unbreakable spirit, this may well be the book for you.
May 9, 2023
I got this book for free through Amazon's World Book Day promotion. I usually really enjoy reading books about other cultures, even if the subject matter is difficult, as this one is. I had lots of difficulties with this book, not just with the subject matter. There are a lot of culture-specific terms and slang. I could look some of them up with the Kindle dictionary/Wikipedia, but not all of them. I decided to not pursue researching further, as a friend told me she had to look in Google Translate in two different languages, and there are so many of them that it would take me further out of the narrative. I realize I'm speaking from a white American viewpoint here. I don't mind doing some translating, but if I'm frequently having to look things up, the book's flow gets thrown off. I used context quite a bit to figure out what type of word it was: food, clothing, slang, booze, something to smoke, type of person. That worked well enough, I suppose.
There are so many characters who have points of view throughout the book, and it was very difficult keeping track of them all. After finishing the book, I was wondering why a few of those characters were even mentioned, as they had little to nothing to do with the plot, and their subplots were unresolved.
The one positive thing I can say is this book made me extremely grateful. I live in a comfortable home, I have plenty to eat, and I have people who care about me and take care of me. So many characters in this book don't have that and are treated horribly on a regular basis. It made me sad. The whole book made me sad.
There are so many characters who have points of view throughout the book, and it was very difficult keeping track of them all. After finishing the book, I was wondering why a few of those characters were even mentioned, as they had little to nothing to do with the plot, and their subplots were unresolved.
The one positive thing I can say is this book made me extremely grateful. I live in a comfortable home, I have plenty to eat, and I have people who care about me and take care of me. So many characters in this book don't have that and are treated horribly on a regular basis. It made me sad. The whole book made me sad.
September 13, 2022
Das' novel brings normalcy to a place that society looks upon as a stain in most instances, even if it is a 'necessary' stain.
What I enjoyed the most is that Das writes these women and their sex worker community as just another community, no more or less than any other. There is support, comedy, arguments, and children. There are friendships, jealousy, and understanding.
Through the lens of the narrators, we see the machinery that is sex work and the sex trade. Das depicts this multi-armed business through her prose which becomes the main character. She uses the sex workers, police, madam, handlers and traffickers, and the organizations working for worker rights vs morality to show the complexity of being a sex worker.
This is not a character-driven book, but it does use its named characters to build the red light district, its reputation and what goes on within its rooms, and who feeds the desires while ignoring the vulnerable and their choices.
She writes the violence that is a primary presence in the lives of these women with both clarity and realistic compassion, cementing the bonds between these women and their determination to bring justice to the streets they work.
What I enjoyed the most is that Das writes these women and their sex worker community as just another community, no more or less than any other. There is support, comedy, arguments, and children. There are friendships, jealousy, and understanding.
Through the lens of the narrators, we see the machinery that is sex work and the sex trade. Das depicts this multi-armed business through her prose which becomes the main character. She uses the sex workers, police, madam, handlers and traffickers, and the organizations working for worker rights vs morality to show the complexity of being a sex worker.
This is not a character-driven book, but it does use its named characters to build the red light district, its reputation and what goes on within its rooms, and who feeds the desires while ignoring the vulnerable and their choices.
She writes the violence that is a primary presence in the lives of these women with both clarity and realistic compassion, cementing the bonds between these women and their determination to bring justice to the streets they work.
April 12, 2022
This book is like nothing I've ever read before.
Intimate and striking, this novel follows several characters as they react to the death of a sex worker. Using switching pov chapters to depict the way in which the world around the Blue Lotus brothel reacts to the horrific crime. We are shown how corruption festers within the police force and the sex industry, exploration coming from both bad actors and people who the main characters trust to protect them.
This is a beautifully sympathetic portrayal of sex workers and their struggles. Arguing strongly that they deserve the same safety as any other type of work and showcasing how criminalisation, demonisation and a lack of safety precautions is a death sentence rather than a saving grace for the industry.
This novel is an unflinching portrayal of the horrors and injustice that sex workers face when their work is kept to the dark sides of society. If you are at all interested in the intricacies of the sex industry debate this novel is essential reading.
(Trigger warnings for this novel include: sex trafficking, abuse, childhood sexual abuse, rape, misogyny, gaslighting, coercion, and police misconduct/brutality.)
Intimate and striking, this novel follows several characters as they react to the death of a sex worker. Using switching pov chapters to depict the way in which the world around the Blue Lotus brothel reacts to the horrific crime. We are shown how corruption festers within the police force and the sex industry, exploration coming from both bad actors and people who the main characters trust to protect them.
This is a beautifully sympathetic portrayal of sex workers and their struggles. Arguing strongly that they deserve the same safety as any other type of work and showcasing how criminalisation, demonisation and a lack of safety precautions is a death sentence rather than a saving grace for the industry.
This novel is an unflinching portrayal of the horrors and injustice that sex workers face when their work is kept to the dark sides of society. If you are at all interested in the intricacies of the sex industry debate this novel is essential reading.
(Trigger warnings for this novel include: sex trafficking, abuse, childhood sexual abuse, rape, misogyny, gaslighting, coercion, and police misconduct/brutality.)
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