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The Education of Yuri
‘We are born alone and we die alone. In between, we reach out to other people.’
At fifteen, Yuri Fonseca of downmarket Mahim—sometimes awkward, sometimes lonely—gets lucky. He finds a friend, Muzammil Merchant of upmarket Pedder Road. Then he loses him, and almost finds him again. In between, he learns something about jealousy, shame, desire and guilt. He stumbles into his first sexual encounter, and he thinks he has fallen in love. He understands how one can hurt and be hurt, and how one can give and find unexplained happiness. He struggles to write poetry, worries if he will ever get and hold a job, and flirts briefly with Naxalism.
Over five years in the strange crucible of Elphinstone College in 1980s’ Bombay—the vast and throbbing city that both claims and disowns him—Yuri tries to make sense of himself. And we are drawn, effortlessly and completely, into the spell of his story.
The Education of Yuri proves yet again that few authors anywhere write with greater warmth, wit and compassion about human emotions and relationships than Jerry Pinto. This glorious novel is among the best ever written on urban adolescence in India.
At fifteen, Yuri Fonseca of downmarket Mahim—sometimes awkward, sometimes lonely—gets lucky. He finds a friend, Muzammil Merchant of upmarket Pedder Road. Then he loses him, and almost finds him again. In between, he learns something about jealousy, shame, desire and guilt. He stumbles into his first sexual encounter, and he thinks he has fallen in love. He understands how one can hurt and be hurt, and how one can give and find unexplained happiness. He struggles to write poetry, worries if he will ever get and hold a job, and flirts briefly with Naxalism.
Over five years in the strange crucible of Elphinstone College in 1980s’ Bombay—the vast and throbbing city that both claims and disowns him—Yuri tries to make sense of himself. And we are drawn, effortlessly and completely, into the spell of his story.
The Education of Yuri proves yet again that few authors anywhere write with greater warmth, wit and compassion about human emotions and relationships than Jerry Pinto. This glorious novel is among the best ever written on urban adolescence in India.
408 pages, Paperback
Published September 10, 2022
57 people are currently reading
1172 people want to read
About the author
Jerry Pinto
77 books369 followersJerry Pinto is a Mumbai-based Indian writer of poetry, prose and children's fiction in English, as well as a journalist. His noted works include, Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb (2006) which won the Best Book on Cinema Award at the 54th National Film Awards, Surviving Women (2000) and Asylum and Other Poems (2003). His first novel Em and The Big Hoom was published in 2012.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
February 27, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed this coming of age set in Bombay. It made me nostalgic about the city, college life, food with friends, questions in the mind of a young person, class and privilege. More thoughts and things to think about at The Satchel Book Club post series —
May 12, 2023
Sometimes you read stories which make you give words to thoughts you haven’t yet expressed or acknowledged. Not even to your own self.
Then there are some stories which make you feel nostalgic for a place or people you have never known. But have always felt an indescribable ache to belong to or befriend.
I have always had this longing of knowing and living in two Indian cities albeit of different era. Erstwhile Calcutta (1930s -1960s) and Bombay (1950s-70s). Maybe it’s because of all the movies I have watched!!
This book took me to the Bombay of 1980s. It took me to its streets, cafés, localities and colleges. It made me privy to the life and mind of a boy growing up from his adolescence to adulthood. To his desires and fears, relationships and ideas. It gave me a peek into the underbelly of the city dictated by daily strife to earn livelihood.
I witnessed Yuri’s college life, his struggles to make sense of his purpose in life, his love for his uncle Tio Julio and the many ups and downs in his friendships. I witnessed poetry readings, poetry workshop and frequently visited Libraries. I loved that Yuri loves reading.
Yuri’s relationship with his uncle made me jealous. Unlike most of the elders I have grown up with, Tio Julio treats his young nephew as equal and asks him to make decisions for himself even if that comes with many wrong ones and he falters.
The text runs smoothly and its serene waters calm the reader’s mind. Interspersed with poetry, it is even more lovely to read. The unflawed narrative makes it a beautiful sensory treat. A book as closer to the workings of human mind as can be.
The reading did cast a spell on me and towards the end, I developed such a liking for Yuri that I wished to know more of him, about what happened next with him.
It is one of my best reads this year and I recommend it highly for anyone looking to read good Indian writing in English.
Then there are some stories which make you feel nostalgic for a place or people you have never known. But have always felt an indescribable ache to belong to or befriend.
I have always had this longing of knowing and living in two Indian cities albeit of different era. Erstwhile Calcutta (1930s -1960s) and Bombay (1950s-70s). Maybe it’s because of all the movies I have watched!!
This book took me to the Bombay of 1980s. It took me to its streets, cafés, localities and colleges. It made me privy to the life and mind of a boy growing up from his adolescence to adulthood. To his desires and fears, relationships and ideas. It gave me a peek into the underbelly of the city dictated by daily strife to earn livelihood.
I witnessed Yuri’s college life, his struggles to make sense of his purpose in life, his love for his uncle Tio Julio and the many ups and downs in his friendships. I witnessed poetry readings, poetry workshop and frequently visited Libraries. I loved that Yuri loves reading.
Yuri’s relationship with his uncle made me jealous. Unlike most of the elders I have grown up with, Tio Julio treats his young nephew as equal and asks him to make decisions for himself even if that comes with many wrong ones and he falters.
The text runs smoothly and its serene waters calm the reader’s mind. Interspersed with poetry, it is even more lovely to read. The unflawed narrative makes it a beautiful sensory treat. A book as closer to the workings of human mind as can be.
The reading did cast a spell on me and towards the end, I developed such a liking for Yuri that I wished to know more of him, about what happened next with him.
It is one of my best reads this year and I recommend it highly for anyone looking to read good Indian writing in English.
February 20, 2023
I picked up the book by happenstance, after a friend and I attended the Times Litfest and met Jerry Pinto there, which made me take my friend's copy on the spur. And damn.
I can't encapsulate in words close to what I felt about the book. I have thoughts about every chapter. There are many reasons the book worked for me (potential SPOILERS ahead) - a bildungsroman about a college student, a protagonist unsure about what they are doing in life, death of a caregiver. It's funny, it's sad, it's introspective, it's also reached straight for my heart.
Jerry Pinto has probably the distinction of being the only writer whose every book has made me cry, and then sit with it for a while. I wanted to go hug Yuri, hang out with him at Milk Bar, and pat him and tell him 'same, same'. I never wanted the book to end, and that should say something about how much I loved it.
It's probably going to stay with me for a long time, and I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.
I can't encapsulate in words close to what I felt about the book. I have thoughts about every chapter. There are many reasons the book worked for me (potential SPOILERS ahead) - a bildungsroman about a college student, a protagonist unsure about what they are doing in life, death of a caregiver. It's funny, it's sad, it's introspective, it's also reached straight for my heart.
Jerry Pinto has probably the distinction of being the only writer whose every book has made me cry, and then sit with it for a while. I wanted to go hug Yuri, hang out with him at Milk Bar, and pat him and tell him 'same, same'. I never wanted the book to end, and that should say something about how much I loved it.
It's probably going to stay with me for a long time, and I wish I could read it for the first time all over again.
October 15, 2022
Bombay, the chemical madness of youth, ceaseless repartee, and the most lovable main character ever.
I tried, I tried so hard. I got my Kindle locked up so I wouldn't finish this beautiful, beautiful book. Thank you, Jerry Pinto.
I tried, I tried so hard. I got my Kindle locked up so I wouldn't finish this beautiful, beautiful book. Thank you, Jerry Pinto.
December 10, 2022
With Education of Yuri, Pinto definitely redeems himself from his previous book, Murder in Mahim. Loved how beautifully the book flowed without embroiling itself in anything for too long, much like Yuri himself. A wonderful coming of age tale that pays a silent tribute to all things Bombay. Perhaps the first book that portrays an Indian city like it were a central character and does it so honestly.
January 11, 2023
This might not have been the author's intention, but I fully plan on using this book as a handbook for parenting. Yuri's interactions with his uncle were extremely mature, poignant and understanding. It surprised me, how respecting your children can be a gamechanger.
November 29, 2022
ig: https://www.instagram.com/p/CljIBWYyO...
my heart is so full.
I have never read anything like this -
a book that resonates so much, that hits so close to home, a book where I can see myself, maybe even lose myself only to find it again, just like, or atleast try to, like Yuri.
I barely ever re-read books but I know I will re read this, multiple times even because I know it will resonate throughout my life, whether im in college or beyond that.
I love every single thing about this book. All of it.I simply did not want it to end.
I wish I could go back to the Bombay of the '80s as Yuri begins his education at Elphinstone College. The throbbing anxiety when you transition from school to junior COLLEGE, the shock you experience as you come to South Bombay from the suburbs (Mahim, for Yuri), the crippling fear and a desperate desire for friendship and support.
College is simply put, a new life, a new world. Almost nothing close to what you have known all your life. It's everything you ever dreamed of, until it isn't. I loved watching Yuri grow, I was terrified for him at the thought of losing friendship, I was in the classroom with him as he contemplated and debated, I admired him for his words, I yearned for him to keep trying to write poetry, above all, I hoped he would find a way to decipher his feelings, a way to understand himself, because I am hoping that for myself as well.
Bombay, our love. I loved Bombay to begin with but Jerry makes me fall in love with it a thousand times more. I don't think anyone can write about our city the way he does. It is simply, perfect. The way he describes the bustling at chowpatty, the office goers sunset, the literal melting point inside the local train, the purpose and hurry in every foot that walks out of Churchgate station, a city without judgement, you could be anything you wanted, you could try.
Yet there also exists a very distinct dichotomy, your social and economic background makes a huge difference in this city. This one line is particularly haunting:
“He noted that his city could contain two sets of thirteen-year-olds: one in Malabar Hill who needed help with Keats and the other on Chowpatty beach who was selling his body.”
The way that Jerry Pinto deals with loss and tragedy is simply so, different. raw. honest. real.
Even in Em and The Big Hoom, the emptiness, the need to be treated the same way, the feeling of finding yourself at an utter loss for what to do, how to find a new way to keep on living. In a way, this loss helps Yuri carve a path for himself, it brings responsibility and clarity, yet it also means that overnight, Yuri had to become incredibly mature, independent, sufficient;
empty, alone.
One of my favourite things about this style of writing is the way Yuri has conversations with himself, the dichotomy and debate that goes on in his head is so real, so relatable. The way he finds himself at a loss for words against himself, the voice in his head - incessant, relentless, terrifying even for it's unafraid of spitting out the truth without any reservations.
The sort of political and sociological discussions inside Elphinstone's walls are those I yearn to be a part of. I especially loved the way Tio Julio dealt with labels. He is such a pure, beautiful character, he gives his everything for Yuri and I admired him immensely.
The Education of Yuri is a beautiful coming of age novel, but it's so much more. The way it deals with the themes of loneliness and existentialism, emptiness and uncertainty, love and fear, is simply unparalleled. All I have to say is, please read this novel. I promise you with all my heart that you will love every bit of it.
my heart is so full.
I have never read anything like this -
a book that resonates so much, that hits so close to home, a book where I can see myself, maybe even lose myself only to find it again, just like, or atleast try to, like Yuri.
I barely ever re-read books but I know I will re read this, multiple times even because I know it will resonate throughout my life, whether im in college or beyond that.
I love every single thing about this book. All of it.I simply did not want it to end.
I wish I could go back to the Bombay of the '80s as Yuri begins his education at Elphinstone College. The throbbing anxiety when you transition from school to junior COLLEGE, the shock you experience as you come to South Bombay from the suburbs (Mahim, for Yuri), the crippling fear and a desperate desire for friendship and support.
College is simply put, a new life, a new world. Almost nothing close to what you have known all your life. It's everything you ever dreamed of, until it isn't. I loved watching Yuri grow, I was terrified for him at the thought of losing friendship, I was in the classroom with him as he contemplated and debated, I admired him for his words, I yearned for him to keep trying to write poetry, above all, I hoped he would find a way to decipher his feelings, a way to understand himself, because I am hoping that for myself as well.
Bombay, our love. I loved Bombay to begin with but Jerry makes me fall in love with it a thousand times more. I don't think anyone can write about our city the way he does. It is simply, perfect. The way he describes the bustling at chowpatty, the office goers sunset, the literal melting point inside the local train, the purpose and hurry in every foot that walks out of Churchgate station, a city without judgement, you could be anything you wanted, you could try.
Yet there also exists a very distinct dichotomy, your social and economic background makes a huge difference in this city. This one line is particularly haunting:
“He noted that his city could contain two sets of thirteen-year-olds: one in Malabar Hill who needed help with Keats and the other on Chowpatty beach who was selling his body.”
The way that Jerry Pinto deals with loss and tragedy is simply so, different. raw. honest. real.
Even in Em and The Big Hoom, the emptiness, the need to be treated the same way, the feeling of finding yourself at an utter loss for what to do, how to find a new way to keep on living. In a way, this loss helps Yuri carve a path for himself, it brings responsibility and clarity, yet it also means that overnight, Yuri had to become incredibly mature, independent, sufficient;
empty, alone.
One of my favourite things about this style of writing is the way Yuri has conversations with himself, the dichotomy and debate that goes on in his head is so real, so relatable. The way he finds himself at a loss for words against himself, the voice in his head - incessant, relentless, terrifying even for it's unafraid of spitting out the truth without any reservations.
The sort of political and sociological discussions inside Elphinstone's walls are those I yearn to be a part of. I especially loved the way Tio Julio dealt with labels. He is such a pure, beautiful character, he gives his everything for Yuri and I admired him immensely.
The Education of Yuri is a beautiful coming of age novel, but it's so much more. The way it deals with the themes of loneliness and existentialism, emptiness and uncertainty, love and fear, is simply unparalleled. All I have to say is, please read this novel. I promise you with all my heart that you will love every bit of it.
September 21, 2022
Excellent coming of age novel in the tradition of Tonio Kroeger. Accurate portrayal of someone who overthinks everything and has an endless hunger for knowledge and experience. Lovely evocation of Bombay too.
August 26, 2025
Sometimes a book sits on your bookshelf for months. You know you are going to love the book because you love everything the author writes, but you are also convinced you are not yet ready for it. There is no real reason for the delay- maybe you are saving it up for a different time when you might appreciate it more, or maybe you don’t want to plunge in right then. Whatever the reason I owned this book for nearly two years before I finally started reading it and when I did, what a joy it was.
The Education of Yuri is not, as the name might, suggest a treatise on the education system, even though the timeline of the story does coincide with the five years where the protagonist was enrolled at Elphinstone College. It is about the many experiences that come together to make Yuri the man he becomes. Yuri is an orphan who was brought up by his uncle who has strong socialistic leanings. He has always considered himself a misfit, and he does so when he joins college too. There he makes friends, falls in love, has sexual adventures, volunteers at a relief camp, almost becomes a Naxalite, reads poetry, writes poetry, discovers people different from himself, experiences the city, enjoys financial independence, learns that responsibility comes with freedom. You grow to love Yuri because he is not afraid to expose his deepest vulnerability, because he asks the questions many of us are unable to ask, and because he is constantly thinking or thinking about thinking. He always knew he was different, but it takes the duration of the book for him to come to understand that 'different' is not always bad, it could also mean 'unique'. Yuri makes mistakes, hurts others (and gets hurt himself), but what shines through is the one thing that defines Yuri- he will never intentionally harm someone and he will try to help whenever he can.
I loved the book, because the city of Mumbai is a main character as much as Yuri himself. The book feels familiar to me, because it is the city that I knew intimately a decade later. The book feels familiar, because it reminds us of our own experience when we went to college for the first time, and and encountered a sea of people very different from ourselves. The book is familiar because of the many "names" that populate the book- names of people who I do not know personally, but who are a part of the literary firmament that the author (and Yuri) knows intimately.
This is a book that will make you dig deep into yourself and show you parts of yourself that you may not quite acknowledge even to yourself. I waited two years to read this book, and it was certainly worth the wait. Yet, I wish I had read this book earlier- how much richer my life would then have been.
The Education of Yuri is not, as the name might, suggest a treatise on the education system, even though the timeline of the story does coincide with the five years where the protagonist was enrolled at Elphinstone College. It is about the many experiences that come together to make Yuri the man he becomes. Yuri is an orphan who was brought up by his uncle who has strong socialistic leanings. He has always considered himself a misfit, and he does so when he joins college too. There he makes friends, falls in love, has sexual adventures, volunteers at a relief camp, almost becomes a Naxalite, reads poetry, writes poetry, discovers people different from himself, experiences the city, enjoys financial independence, learns that responsibility comes with freedom. You grow to love Yuri because he is not afraid to expose his deepest vulnerability, because he asks the questions many of us are unable to ask, and because he is constantly thinking or thinking about thinking. He always knew he was different, but it takes the duration of the book for him to come to understand that 'different' is not always bad, it could also mean 'unique'. Yuri makes mistakes, hurts others (and gets hurt himself), but what shines through is the one thing that defines Yuri- he will never intentionally harm someone and he will try to help whenever he can.
I loved the book, because the city of Mumbai is a main character as much as Yuri himself. The book feels familiar to me, because it is the city that I knew intimately a decade later. The book feels familiar, because it reminds us of our own experience when we went to college for the first time, and and encountered a sea of people very different from ourselves. The book is familiar because of the many "names" that populate the book- names of people who I do not know personally, but who are a part of the literary firmament that the author (and Yuri) knows intimately.
This is a book that will make you dig deep into yourself and show you parts of yourself that you may not quite acknowledge even to yourself. I waited two years to read this book, and it was certainly worth the wait. Yet, I wish I had read this book earlier- how much richer my life would then have been.
November 8, 2024
Existential - nothing else describes this book better!
The flow of the story, writing style and characters is refreshing to read!
The flow of the story, writing style and characters is refreshing to read!
November 26, 2022
This book is a coming-of-age story of a boy called Yuri set in the city of Mumbai, as he goes through his years of college. Yuri is an orphan and is raised by his uncle, Tio Julio, and the story revolves around his love for reading and meanderings of thought as he tries to find his purpose for existence along multiple forays - friendship, love, politics, and poetry. Pinto gives you a full unadulterated view into Yuri's thought processes, making you relate deeply as he deals with quotidian relationships that are commonplace in Indian colleges. The prose is excellent, and the minutiae of trepidations he makes you go through are a treat to read and experience, and on another note, the book is redolent of the love around Mumbai.
Thank you Mounica for the recommendation! :)
Thank you Mounica for the recommendation! :)
November 13, 2022
There are very few books I know I will reread, because I can barely read them once these days. But I know this is one of them.
August 6, 2025
An author who overwhelms you to the point of tears with each of the two books he’s written and that you’ve had the good sense to pick and read – this is an author worth adding to the “will read whatever he writes” list. Has anyone seen my list, btw? It is a white sheet of paper and says Amitav Ghosh and Jhumpa Lahiri on it*
The Education of Yuri is one of those novels that allow you to float along its pages with the gentle sway of post monsoon river travelling across the plains. You know the calm surface and the gentle laps are only hiding a depth that you feel when you close your eyes and allow yourself to let your fingers skim the surface. Not one to meander with the twists and turns of a plot, not one to fall off a cliff and let your heart leap into your mouth with the boisterous claims of big events and shocking characters. You meet the protagonist - a fifteen year old you recognize from your own childhood. Even if you are a woman, you know you’ve met this boy who might have been those quiet ones you never called “friend” in school but turned out to be exactly that years later. You meet his Tio Julio – the non-parent adult that we always wanted and perhaps some of were lucky enough even to have even if we did not realize it at the time. And you meet his many classmates and friends – for a self proclaimed “bad at friendship” as Yuri is, he has quite the coterie and quite the journey through the streets and buildings of Bombay of the 1980s
A special mention of course, of the Bombay you meet. Countless books and films have romanticised Bombay enough that much of its degraded state gets grossly overlooked decades later. And yet, this is an ode to a city of the author’s childhood and youth much like the author himself – slapping with gentle humor, full of kind smiles and twinkling eyes and completely devoid of flashy neon lights and loud music. Hiraeth – that’s the word apparently – one that describes a yearning for a home or a place that no longer exists.
There are many reasons I am glad I moved to Mumbai**. The Mumbai Literary Club is one of them, the books they pick is another. This book is one of those!
*Inspired by Phoebe's list which says Ross.
**There are also many reasons I miss the Uru. Just saying.
The Education of Yuri is one of those novels that allow you to float along its pages with the gentle sway of post monsoon river travelling across the plains. You know the calm surface and the gentle laps are only hiding a depth that you feel when you close your eyes and allow yourself to let your fingers skim the surface. Not one to meander with the twists and turns of a plot, not one to fall off a cliff and let your heart leap into your mouth with the boisterous claims of big events and shocking characters. You meet the protagonist - a fifteen year old you recognize from your own childhood. Even if you are a woman, you know you’ve met this boy who might have been those quiet ones you never called “friend” in school but turned out to be exactly that years later. You meet his Tio Julio – the non-parent adult that we always wanted and perhaps some of were lucky enough even to have even if we did not realize it at the time. And you meet his many classmates and friends – for a self proclaimed “bad at friendship” as Yuri is, he has quite the coterie and quite the journey through the streets and buildings of Bombay of the 1980s
A special mention of course, of the Bombay you meet. Countless books and films have romanticised Bombay enough that much of its degraded state gets grossly overlooked decades later. And yet, this is an ode to a city of the author’s childhood and youth much like the author himself – slapping with gentle humor, full of kind smiles and twinkling eyes and completely devoid of flashy neon lights and loud music. Hiraeth – that’s the word apparently – one that describes a yearning for a home or a place that no longer exists.
There are many reasons I am glad I moved to Mumbai**. The Mumbai Literary Club is one of them, the books they pick is another. This book is one of those!
*Inspired by Phoebe's list which says Ross.
**There are also many reasons I miss the Uru. Just saying.
March 1, 2023
A lovely bildungsroman. It starts out a bit too clever, but I realised it was intentional, and over the five years you observe Yuri growing up, literally and emotionally, becoming a kinder person.
Novels set in India from the perspective of a protagonist at a vulnerable age tend to suffer from too much "observation" of the normal world around him (it's always 'him') and relentless putting down of middle aged bureaucrats who belong to a different world the protagonist, brought up on a diet of American comics, movies and books, could never identify with. Of course, the readers can identify with him, not the average Indian though.
This is mostly true of Yuri's upbringing, knowing only English, not having watched any movies, growing up devouring books. The main difference here is Jerry Pinto himself who brings a much kinder gaze to the world around him, even when it is something Yuri doesn't understand. It helps to have his uncle Julio work as a moral compass guiding him towards where he really wants to be. Julio is easily one of the loveliest characters written in Indian novels in years, without needing to be dashing like auhtors have to make them.
Yes, there is too many references to books etc, but he doesn't close the book to those who don't get them. In the end it is about growing up in a tough world while keeping your sanity intact, and still being kind to it.
Honestly though, only Jerry Pinto could have made this work, and while it might not work perfectly, it works, 70% of the time.
Novels set in India from the perspective of a protagonist at a vulnerable age tend to suffer from too much "observation" of the normal world around him (it's always 'him') and relentless putting down of middle aged bureaucrats who belong to a different world the protagonist, brought up on a diet of American comics, movies and books, could never identify with. Of course, the readers can identify with him, not the average Indian though.
This is mostly true of Yuri's upbringing, knowing only English, not having watched any movies, growing up devouring books. The main difference here is Jerry Pinto himself who brings a much kinder gaze to the world around him, even when it is something Yuri doesn't understand. It helps to have his uncle Julio work as a moral compass guiding him towards where he really wants to be. Julio is easily one of the loveliest characters written in Indian novels in years, without needing to be dashing like auhtors have to make them.
Yes, there is too many references to books etc, but he doesn't close the book to those who don't get them. In the end it is about growing up in a tough world while keeping your sanity intact, and still being kind to it.
Honestly though, only Jerry Pinto could have made this work, and while it might not work perfectly, it works, 70% of the time.
September 9, 2025
The Education of Yuri is aboout being young, and lonely, and wanting a community, about friendships, politics, Bombay, and growing up. This is such a tender novel, thank you Jerry Pinto for reminding me to look back at my own coming of age with more love and kindness.
There are so many beautiful learnings here too, one that has stayed with me was tucked away in a simple conversation between Yuri and his uncle. Yuri was sad because of a growing distance with his best friend, but not visibly or in a dramatic way. His uncle knew and without probing much, asked him to go and do some work for others in a relief camp saying, when he is "too much in his head", he finds that serving others is a good way to get out of it. Yuri goes to the Bhiwandi relief camp. He is asked to do mundane paper work, and make tea for everyone. He has conversations with a few people there. The work didn't seem particularly charitable or significant, he says, but he hadn't thought about his troubles that whole day.
One of my favourite books that I've read this year and surely one I want to revisit.
There are so many beautiful learnings here too, one that has stayed with me was tucked away in a simple conversation between Yuri and his uncle. Yuri was sad because of a growing distance with his best friend, but not visibly or in a dramatic way. His uncle knew and without probing much, asked him to go and do some work for others in a relief camp saying, when he is "too much in his head", he finds that serving others is a good way to get out of it. Yuri goes to the Bhiwandi relief camp. He is asked to do mundane paper work, and make tea for everyone. He has conversations with a few people there. The work didn't seem particularly charitable or significant, he says, but he hadn't thought about his troubles that whole day.
One of my favourite books that I've read this year and surely one I want to revisit.
January 28, 2023
A coming of age story of Yuri — orphan, perpetual outsider, overthinker, poet, explorer of the brave new world of Elphinstone College, Mumbai in the early 1980s with all its idiosyncratic characters, class divides and political backdrop. From convening elocution contests honouring arch-capitalists to flirting with Naxal revolutionaries, Jerry Pinto paints a nuanced picture of Yuri, his friends and the times. I know. I was there.
February 4, 2025
cried through the last 40 pages of the book, 10/10
September 27, 2022
There are writers and then there is Jerry Pinto. This was a magnum opus. God, what a beautiful read.
February 12, 2025
I was rooting for the main character Yuri throughout this book. It is hard to read this novel and not reflect back on your own time in college. It got me thinking about my friends in college, my professors in college, my first love, my first job, college exams and specific areas in the cities of Mumbai. There are two reasons I love this book:
Number 1 - Yuri goes through several transformations because of what he experiences through the time duration of this book. He finds and loses love. He struggles financially. He chooses and changes his path of studies. He finds work to make ends meet for him and his family. He observes societal constructs and divisions based on caste, class and gender. By the end of the book he slowly comes to accept life with its many complexities. I love how the book portrays a diverse set of relationships that Yuri develops through his time at college. Some friends help him study and some friends help him explore the city. Both sets of friends come and go. The good times and bad times come and go. By the end of the book, Yuri begins to develop a sense of an identity and understands the values that that will guide his thinking in the years to come.
Number 2 - Jerry Pinto really knows Bombay and he brought the city to life through the many hyper local references spread across this book. That was my other favourite part of this book apart from observing Yuri's journey. I found references to my mother's college, my grandfather's workplace and my own college. I have heard Jerry speak and share his thoughts on many occasions. He is a dedicated writer and has spent several years translating books and covering journalistic stories of the city. He also teaches at a college in the city. I feel this rootedness in so many of these Mumbai/Bombay subcultures gave him a special vantage point to build the setting of this novel. Definitely one of the great Bombay books!
Thus if you are looking for a good bildungsroman novel about growing up in the 1980's in India then you have to read this book. If you stay in Mumbai or are curious about it then you also should read this book.
Number 1 - Yuri goes through several transformations because of what he experiences through the time duration of this book. He finds and loses love. He struggles financially. He chooses and changes his path of studies. He finds work to make ends meet for him and his family. He observes societal constructs and divisions based on caste, class and gender. By the end of the book he slowly comes to accept life with its many complexities. I love how the book portrays a diverse set of relationships that Yuri develops through his time at college. Some friends help him study and some friends help him explore the city. Both sets of friends come and go. The good times and bad times come and go. By the end of the book, Yuri begins to develop a sense of an identity and understands the values that that will guide his thinking in the years to come.
Number 2 - Jerry Pinto really knows Bombay and he brought the city to life through the many hyper local references spread across this book. That was my other favourite part of this book apart from observing Yuri's journey. I found references to my mother's college, my grandfather's workplace and my own college. I have heard Jerry speak and share his thoughts on many occasions. He is a dedicated writer and has spent several years translating books and covering journalistic stories of the city. He also teaches at a college in the city. I feel this rootedness in so many of these Mumbai/Bombay subcultures gave him a special vantage point to build the setting of this novel. Definitely one of the great Bombay books!
Thus if you are looking for a good bildungsroman novel about growing up in the 1980's in India then you have to read this book. If you stay in Mumbai or are curious about it then you also should read this book.
December 27, 2022
In first year of Junior college, when Yuri elects to study science, he finds himself in the lab, being asked to dissect the nerve ring of an earthworm. At that moment, he realizes that he can never be a doctor.
(I had a similar moment of clarity in my first year of Zoology Hons. as I found myself looking down upon the earthworm that gave up its life for science, whose remains I only ended up butchering and it felt like desecration. I was never going to be a scientist.)
To find a moment of your personal history play out in a novel is an experience both surreal and grounding. Suddenly you are part of a humanity that essentially feels the same things. You are not alone.
Yuri is not alone. He is an orphan, in that his parents died when he was a baby, but he was cared for by the most sensitive and wise uncle (Tio Julio) that an orphan could hope for in a guardian. With his support, Yuri switches to humanities, and gives us the kind of novel we all love. The kind filled with clever banter, booksellers and libraries, and literary references.
But Yuri is a teenager and is presented with all the attendant issues of one as he navigates how to make friends and money, choose political affiliations, awkwardly go through sexual awakening and learns how to do the right thing. We have all been teenagers and found ourselves in that swing between thinking we were too cool for school and not cool enough, and that inner dialogue of a sensitive teenage boy (and also his friends, who interestingly have much less agency in their lives because they have parents!) fills me with empathy for the young people we dismiss as “kids these days”.
This is not a “good” book, for good, according to Tio Julio is such a colourless, odourless, tasteless word. This book has the colours of the times of landline phones, the odours of the libraries and the streets of Bombay, and the taste of Jerry Pinto’s wry yet sensitive writing, which we just don’t get enough of.
(I had a similar moment of clarity in my first year of Zoology Hons. as I found myself looking down upon the earthworm that gave up its life for science, whose remains I only ended up butchering and it felt like desecration. I was never going to be a scientist.)
To find a moment of your personal history play out in a novel is an experience both surreal and grounding. Suddenly you are part of a humanity that essentially feels the same things. You are not alone.
Yuri is not alone. He is an orphan, in that his parents died when he was a baby, but he was cared for by the most sensitive and wise uncle (Tio Julio) that an orphan could hope for in a guardian. With his support, Yuri switches to humanities, and gives us the kind of novel we all love. The kind filled with clever banter, booksellers and libraries, and literary references.
But Yuri is a teenager and is presented with all the attendant issues of one as he navigates how to make friends and money, choose political affiliations, awkwardly go through sexual awakening and learns how to do the right thing. We have all been teenagers and found ourselves in that swing between thinking we were too cool for school and not cool enough, and that inner dialogue of a sensitive teenage boy (and also his friends, who interestingly have much less agency in their lives because they have parents!) fills me with empathy for the young people we dismiss as “kids these days”.
This is not a “good” book, for good, according to Tio Julio is such a colourless, odourless, tasteless word. This book has the colours of the times of landline phones, the odours of the libraries and the streets of Bombay, and the taste of Jerry Pinto’s wry yet sensitive writing, which we just don’t get enough of.
Read
December 3, 2022By the most unfathomable luck, I got a chance to meet Pinto. I was still reading this novel and was so, so confused on whether I liked it, loved it, found it “merely agreeable” or just alright.
No doubt, Pinto is an amazing writer, he incorporated all the stirred up and bottled in emotions of a teenager in the novel. No doubt, there will always be an element of relatability in his work. Chai, The depiction of decade old Indian government colleges, their workings and the great old now-romanticized city of Bombay. All of it, along with Yuri were exceptionally depicted. I cried and I laughed while reading it. I loved LOVED Tio Julio. The whole world would be a better place if we had more of Tio Julio.
I loved the depiction of Tio’s death. I’ve always thought that Love and Death both are just so Random. I could write 500 lines with citations on why I think that.
Unfortunately, this book failed to moved me, as great as it was, I particularly did not like certain arcs and dialogues. The ending felt way too underwhelming. The story build up was for me as a reader was always about Muzamill and Yuri, so to end it with them, just being there for each other, made much more sense to me. But again : It’s not the authors fault but my own individual want of wanting things to different. I could never blame Pinto, man spoke to me greatly about love and told my friends that he would adopt them.
All and all, a great book, a great read. Just didn’t work for me because I had different ideas about certain things. So yes, I found it Just alright.
(but I LOVED tio julio, and yuri, and maybe a little bit of arif and bhavana and…a little bit of all the characters)
No doubt, Pinto is an amazing writer, he incorporated all the stirred up and bottled in emotions of a teenager in the novel. No doubt, there will always be an element of relatability in his work. Chai, The depiction of decade old Indian government colleges, their workings and the great old now-romanticized city of Bombay. All of it, along with Yuri were exceptionally depicted. I cried and I laughed while reading it. I loved LOVED Tio Julio. The whole world would be a better place if we had more of Tio Julio.
I loved the depiction of Tio’s death. I’ve always thought that Love and Death both are just so Random. I could write 500 lines with citations on why I think that.
Unfortunately, this book failed to moved me, as great as it was, I particularly did not like certain arcs and dialogues. The ending felt way too underwhelming. The story build up was for me as a reader was always about Muzamill and Yuri, so to end it with them, just being there for each other, made much more sense to me. But again : It’s not the authors fault but my own individual want of wanting things to different. I could never blame Pinto, man spoke to me greatly about love and told my friends that he would adopt them.
All and all, a great book, a great read. Just didn’t work for me because I had different ideas about certain things. So yes, I found it Just alright.
(but I LOVED tio julio, and yuri, and maybe a little bit of arif and bhavana and…a little bit of all the characters)
February 2, 2023
Finished this wonderful bildungsroman set in Bombay of the 1980s. Yuri Foncesca, our protagonist, is a surprisingly well read teenager who overthinks most of the time. Rather aloof, he is socially awkward and struggles to make (and keep) friends. But when he starts to study at Elphinstone College, he begins to realize he has signed up for an education in more than the Humanities (tempted to say he signed up for an education in humanity but that's too cheesy).
The book had an easy-going charm and warmth. Courtesy Yuri's fondness for reading, it features a superb list of book recommendations, an absolute treasure trove! In moments when he can rationalize and analyze others with clarity but he stumbles in opening himself up to his friends; in his consistent worries about who he is and what good he wants to do for the world; in his awkward sexual encounters, he is all of us.
The book has a lovely set of side characters, especially his guardian, Tio Julio, and his friend, Muzammil. It harkens to a time that is looked upon fondly by those a generation above me, one without the internet, with landline phones and libraries and taxis being a luxury.
In one scene in the last year of his college, he decides to list out things he wants to do including learning a language, picking up a skill, and sort out his love life. I chuckled at a memory of writing something similar on my whiteboard during my college years. I recall being just as lost and clueless but what Tio Julio taught him, took me a lot longer to realize:
"I just don't know what to do"
"Then you must flail"
The book had an easy-going charm and warmth. Courtesy Yuri's fondness for reading, it features a superb list of book recommendations, an absolute treasure trove! In moments when he can rationalize and analyze others with clarity but he stumbles in opening himself up to his friends; in his consistent worries about who he is and what good he wants to do for the world; in his awkward sexual encounters, he is all of us.
The book has a lovely set of side characters, especially his guardian, Tio Julio, and his friend, Muzammil. It harkens to a time that is looked upon fondly by those a generation above me, one without the internet, with landline phones and libraries and taxis being a luxury.
In one scene in the last year of his college, he decides to list out things he wants to do including learning a language, picking up a skill, and sort out his love life. I chuckled at a memory of writing something similar on my whiteboard during my college years. I recall being just as lost and clueless but what Tio Julio taught him, took me a lot longer to realize:
"I just don't know what to do"
"Then you must flail"
October 16, 2024
Jerry Pinto has a real talent for writing beautifully about Mumbai and the lives of the people in the city. He really stole my heart with "Em and the Big Hoom"...and while Yuri's story may not be as mind-blowing to me, it remains very memorable nevertheless. Really lovely coming of age tale, about friendships, love and facing the complexities of adult life. And personally also found it very nostalgic with the description of junior college and graduation life in Mumbai....such a sad tale yet so heart-warming.
October 2, 2022
The story of Yuri grew in the years that this book brings out with a pace that takes the readers' attention into the story in a away reader enjoys, a trick Jerry Pinto's style of writing.
December 28, 2022
A splendid bildungsroman. Almost a 'refusal-to-come-of-age' story, overflowing with eternal confusion, sexual frustration and an appendix of 80s bombay townside eateries. Pinto at his best.
January 21, 2023
If 'Gilead' was told from Reverend Ames' growing son's perspective, it would be this Indian novel set in 1980s Bombay. It was the setting and discussion around the city as a character in the novel that drew me toward it. I was curious to see how Bombay was owned and disowned to suit its very young high-school boy, Yuri Fonseca. And I have to say, I was answered beautifully. A christian boy growing up in Mahim, orphaned as a child but loved and nurtured by his maternal uncle, Yuri is a character who makes you stay with him despite his extremely inconsistent, disquieted self. He doesn't say or do things that will instantly win us over but it is in the steady unfolding of Pinto's story Yuri comes to us in all his mistakes and misspells. Such that by the end, you feel sad with him and maybe shed a tear for the turn life takes for this young boy just making his way out of college. Oh, my heart, I was totally absorbed into Yuri's world. I found myself into the Elphinstone College meeting teachers, classmates, making friends, secretly attending political meetings and prepare for inter-college competition nervously. From a deep-dive into Yuri's thoughts to him seeing a male friend naked, discovering pleasure with unknown women, to finding what he really wants, I let myself loose into the life of this unsure boy. And his friendships, some fleeting, some worth staying and some unchanced, just the way they ought to be. One really has to get into the head of a 15-16 y/o to know what friendship, love, desire, ambition and family mean to them, and the author has done that exceedingly well. In the floating breeze of the city that is ever-changing and unhauling itself, we Yuri's life take those turns too. His education comes with living in Bombay, in domestically inhabiting Mahim, in visiting South Bombay for college, in the train rides connecting him to the city that continues to remain unknown. That's what Bombay is to him and cities mean to those feeling one with it. Not simply the people who make it possible, sometimes, it is also the physical, overbearing presence of space that city occupies makes us tied to it. Oh, I could go on and on but I will stop here and push you to read this very moving book! I promise you, if not tears, at least, you will smile seeing Yuri live.
Thanks a ton to my friend @Dikshagiri for this gift.
Thanks a ton to my friend @Dikshagiri for this gift.
February 1, 2025
Initially 3 but upgraded to 4 (after a lot of thinking and thinking about that thinking)
I like how raw it feels. For being the age I am, I still relate to Yuri. I suppose we all do?
Certain parts were a bit much, I felt disdain for him or even anger but it’s true. He’s true.
So many things ring so true, maybe it’s my own loathing for myself as Yuri feels?
Jerry Pinto has a penchant for writing as if he lived through each experience.
I liken it to the books with a certain melancholy about them. Not tragic or sad but there’s always a hint? Is it unavoidable?
Certain quotes have gone to my journal for safekeeping. Yuri writes, when he is overwhelmed. I am writing the review for the same reason.
Great work, will recommend :)
PS Tio Julio and Muzzamil have to be my favourites. Should I play favourites though? Or am I asking too many questions in this review ;)
PS 2 Pinto writes lovely father figures. :)
I like how raw it feels. For being the age I am, I still relate to Yuri. I suppose we all do?
Certain parts were a bit much, I felt disdain for him or even anger but it’s true. He’s true.
So many things ring so true, maybe it’s my own loathing for myself as Yuri feels?
Jerry Pinto has a penchant for writing as if he lived through each experience.
I liken it to the books with a certain melancholy about them. Not tragic or sad but there’s always a hint? Is it unavoidable?
Certain quotes have gone to my journal for safekeeping. Yuri writes, when he is overwhelmed. I am writing the review for the same reason.
Great work, will recommend :)
PS Tio Julio and Muzzamil have to be my favourites. Should I play favourites though? Or am I asking too many questions in this review ;)
PS 2 Pinto writes lovely father figures. :)
November 13, 2022
When Jerry Pinto writes a book, how can one not read it! I didn't think he could top Em and the Big Hoom but with this novel I think he did.
The Education of Yuri is a truly beautiful read, set in a time Bombay was still Bombay and VT was still VT, it's a stunning coming of age story.
As an underconfident Yuri begins college in an alien South Bombay environment, what he learns outside the classroom has far more of an impact on him that what he learns inside - which is always the case in real life too. Art, poetry, literature, friendships, sex and sexuality, politics et all - but most importantly - his journey to self awareness and self discovery is what this book is all about.
While the book is about an eighteen year old, it strengthen my belief in the fact that there really is no age when one stops needing to get to know themselves. If one is open to it, they can be educated everyday till the time they die.
On a more fun note - meeting some of Bombay's literary legends (like Mr. Shanbagh, Adil Jussawalla, Nissim Ezekiel and Jagat) in the book's pages was just icing on the cake.
This, is certainly a good book (however 'colourless, odourless and tasteless' the word maybe be).
The Education of Yuri is a truly beautiful read, set in a time Bombay was still Bombay and VT was still VT, it's a stunning coming of age story.
As an underconfident Yuri begins college in an alien South Bombay environment, what he learns outside the classroom has far more of an impact on him that what he learns inside - which is always the case in real life too. Art, poetry, literature, friendships, sex and sexuality, politics et all - but most importantly - his journey to self awareness and self discovery is what this book is all about.
While the book is about an eighteen year old, it strengthen my belief in the fact that there really is no age when one stops needing to get to know themselves. If one is open to it, they can be educated everyday till the time they die.
On a more fun note - meeting some of Bombay's literary legends (like Mr. Shanbagh, Adil Jussawalla, Nissim Ezekiel and Jagat) in the book's pages was just icing on the cake.
This, is certainly a good book (however 'colourless, odourless and tasteless' the word maybe be).
March 12, 2023
More 4.5. I really enjoyed this read. Learnt many new words. Also learnt that Bombay has great street food and this distinct cultural tint that is very Bombay (I am assuming that I'm making sense here). Helped that I could relate to a lot of problems Yuri faces in Junior College. Must read more Pinto.
March 5, 2023
A delightful, breezing novel that will make you recall your passing into adulthood. Things seemed easy but hard.
The only sure answers were to the questions in the exams but we got many of them wrong too. Some just fit in and some were just wanderers from one group to another learning more and more about their inadequacies.
Many of us of have managed to come a long way, some through a straight highway, and some via a winding broken road.
This novel will let you sit in a projection room and look into the past all over again as a spectator.
Anyways, just like Yuri, I have started to ramble. Read it and enjoy.
The only sure answers were to the questions in the exams but we got many of them wrong too. Some just fit in and some were just wanderers from one group to another learning more and more about their inadequacies.
Many of us of have managed to come a long way, some through a straight highway, and some via a winding broken road.
This novel will let you sit in a projection room and look into the past all over again as a spectator.
Anyways, just like Yuri, I have started to ramble. Read it and enjoy.
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