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35th out of 38 books
—
3 voters
Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars
by
Sonia Faleiro (Goodreads Author)
Sonia Faleiro was a reporter in search of a story when she met Leela, a beautiful and charismatic bar dancer with a story to tell.
Leela introduced Sonia to the underworld of Bombay’s dance bars: a world of glamorous women, of fierce love, sex and violence, of customers and gangsters, of police, prostitutes and pimps.
When an ambitious politician cashed in on a tide of false...more
Leela introduced Sonia to the underworld of Bombay’s dance bars: a world of glamorous women, of fierce love, sex and violence, of customers and gangsters, of police, prostitutes and pimps.
When an ambitious politician cashed in on a tide of false...more
Hardcover, 232 pages
Published
October 1st 2010
by Penguin Books India
(first published September 30th 2010)
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"I distrust biographical studies that soak in too much psychographic subtlety, as much as, that other egregious genre, biographical fiction- as though there were a difference between their performative horizons: both paint the object in the biases of the subject who vanishes under his narration, gesticulating strategically with the objects of analysis, when the narrative demands it independently of the objects’ self narrative. We are all subject to violence, who live, as someone somewhere is, al...more
Faleiro spent several years gaining the trust of bar dancers in a suburb of Mumbai while working as a journalist, giving her the material to follow the short careers of Leela and her friend Priya, 19-year old girls from small villages and abusive families who work for cash in an underworld of undocumented (they're Indian, but without residency paperwork can't have bank accounts, most don't have birth certificates, have "contracts" of debts to pimps and loansharks) transient people and who are of...more
From the title you might not conclude that Beautiful Thing by Sonia Faleiro could be very educational… unless you wanted to swiftly contract AIDS & die in the slums of Mumbai.
However, this true story of the life of a bar-dancer illuminated many things for me about life in India as a Muslim woman, about the immovability of old social structures, the nature of old Islam and [of course], public health.
I really feel some insight into the quandaries of life for women under the old and poverty-str...more
However, this true story of the life of a bar-dancer illuminated many things for me about life in India as a Muslim woman, about the immovability of old social structures, the nature of old Islam and [of course], public health.
I really feel some insight into the quandaries of life for women under the old and poverty-str...more
'Beautiful Thing' does not start off very well. The writing seems a little choppy; somewhat disjointed. I find myself thinking that Suketu Mehta probably did a better job covering similar material in 'Maximum City'. Louise Brown's 'The Dancing Girls of Lahore' is another outstanding book on a similar subject. However, after the first few pages, the story of 'Leela' a teenage 'bar girl' in Bombay really picks up. Sonia Faleiro tells her story with compassion, without pulling any punches and witho...more
Sonia Faleiro crafts a work of beauty
A review by Ben Antao
Beautiful Thing
By Sonia Faleiro
Publisher, Hamish Hamilton
Non-fiction, hardcover, pp 214, Rs 450
The beauty of this work of non-fiction is not the story as such, but the skill of the author who crafted it. The story of the barwali named Leela is not new for it’s been playing out for decades in India’s crowded cities and slums, and even in villages where fathers and mothers are forced to sell their children into prostitution out of desp...more
Almost unreadable book; partially due to stylistic device of using the language of characters and translating it in English, where 'veg' the short of vegetarian becomes wedge, and written in a rather choppily. Great affinity for Hindi cuss words and their translations. At times it seems that cuss words is the propelling force behind this book which tells about the bleak life of Bombay Bar-Dancers before and after the ban on their trade in a gritty manner. I so wish it was well written as I have...more
In this heartbreaking work of non-fiction, Sonia Faleiro guides us through Bombay's sexy and depraved dance bars as she tells the story of Leela, a 19 year old dancer. Leela flees her violent childhood home and her beauty turns her into one of the dance bars most popular girls. The business involves sex, money, violence, bribes and extortion; however, despite its flaws she enjoys the independence it provides. When politicians close the dance bars on claims of morality (although in reality the we...more
Review from wonderful customer Denise!
The first half of the book tells the story about bar dancers and the second half deals with the effect of the ban imposed on Bombay’s dance bars, by the government.
The conversations with the characters flow naturally in a mix of English, Hindi, and slang that is oddly easy to understand sometimes. Things are told as they are, nothing more or less.
The life of dance bar girls is told through the story of Leela (a bar dancer), her family, her past, her friends...more
The first half of the book tells the story about bar dancers and the second half deals with the effect of the ban imposed on Bombay’s dance bars, by the government.
The conversations with the characters flow naturally in a mix of English, Hindi, and slang that is oddly easy to understand sometimes. Things are told as they are, nothing more or less.
The life of dance bar girls is told through the story of Leela (a bar dancer), her family, her past, her friends...more
I have been a fan of investigative journalism. Many such pieces of work delve deep inside the world of human emotions and showcase a side of humans not known to many. I have never been able to understand the world of Dance Bars. Sonia Faleiro narrates a story of Leela through whose eyes Sonia has seen a world unknown to many of us. The world of dance bars is full of sleaze. It’s a world of glamorous women, of fierce love, bestial sex and violence. It is a world full of customers of varied types,...more
This is a wonderfully engaging and elegantly written book that tells the story of Leela, a teenage bar dancer in Mumbai’s seedy, barely-concealed underworld of dance bars and prostitution.
I forgot that I was reading a work of non-fiction. The author has so skilfully crafted the story and the characters that you feel you know Leela intimately from the very first page. Later characters like Priya and the cleverly constructed Apsara are also brilliantly drawn.
Although the book covers a fairly sho...more
I forgot that I was reading a work of non-fiction. The author has so skilfully crafted the story and the characters that you feel you know Leela intimately from the very first page. Later characters like Priya and the cleverly constructed Apsara are also brilliantly drawn.
Although the book covers a fairly sho...more
I received Beautiful thing by Sonia Faleriro for free through Goodreads first reads giveaway. This book shows a lot of the horrors of the bombay dance bars. This is not something that everyday people thing about or have to deal with but its a horrible reality for these women. Many of the things these women face is truly horrible. The fact that this is a true story makes it that much worse, you really feel for these women. This book does have many emotional moments, with parts that will disgust...more
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It is a well researched book. The aspect that jarred me was the constant usage of the phonetic. Perhaps it is an ethnographic trick. But for me that stuttered the pace of what could be a wonderfully written book. Till now I'd held up Maximum City as the index of writing a reasonably fast paced and written well book. In this her writing style actually fades into the background without having it leap out at the reader across the pages and impressing with imagery or, skill with words.
Combining rese...more
Combining rese...more
I enjoyed this book, but there are a lot of terms/vocab that are not defined. I'm so glad to have been born in a country where corruption isn't considered normal or good, where you don't have to pay the police not to do terrible things to you, and where people would be outraged if your parents let people rape you for money. Every non-fiction book I read about India (which do happen to focus on the poor)makes me feel like it's a horrible place where people would just as soon kill one another, sel...more
Fact: There are women in India who dance for money. Fact: There are women in India who have sex for money. Fact: There are women in India who make their livelihood off of lusty men, and these women are less downtrodden than you would think.
At least, this is what Sonia Faleiro would have you believe in her intimate exposé of the secret world of Bombay’s nightclubs, “Beautiful Thing.” A massively detailed account of the life and times of a bar dancer named Leela, Beautiful Thing provides a vantage...more
At least, this is what Sonia Faleiro would have you believe in her intimate exposé of the secret world of Bombay’s nightclubs, “Beautiful Thing.” A massively detailed account of the life and times of a bar dancer named Leela, Beautiful Thing provides a vantage...more
An insider look into the seamy and murky world of Bombay's dance bars, Sonia Faleiro narrates a tale that at times seems too fantastical to be even made up. The book follows the life of a bar dancer Leela and her trials and tribulations that mirror the strifes for everyone a part of the industry. Apart from a few minor annoyances, the book is gripping and interesting. Ms. Faleiro is obviously influenced by her friend Gregory David Roberts from whom she seems to have learnt the art of putting "ta...more
Could not make myself finish the book as the story line was getting too predictable. I liked the style in which the book is written a lot though.. makes one at points believe that the story is being told by Leela herself, in her 'tooti-footi' Angreji. I had expected a bit more nuance that I could find in this book. Having read Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers (and loving it) I could make myself see past the rather mundane observations. Could work for the folks unfamiliar with how th...more
"What would I say, you tell? It's always the same with these girls---a horror film! - Aunty
After watching the film City of God, my good friend said, "damn, life is cheap." After reading this book, I'm assuming that poor women are viewed as worthless yet they tend generate so much money for anyone willing to sell them. When I first learned that Jacob was sold into slavery by his brothers in the Book of Genesis, I thought that was cruel. In the end, Jacob forgave his brothers. Fathers selling thei...more
I won Beautiful Thing by Sonia Faleiro from a firstreads contest. I it is an account by the author of the life lived by bar dancers and sex workers in Bombay and its surrounds. The focus, is Leela, who ran away from home after her father prostituted her. She eventually finds success as a bar dancer at Night Lovers in Bombay. She makes money dancing, she spends it, and she lives a relatively normal life despite a traumatic beginning. Leela is our glamorous heroine, seeking to embody the actresses...more
Beautiful Thing is a non-fiction book written more as an informative reporting about Leela, a young girl working in the dance bars of Bombay. The author reports on Leela's life, and in doing so highlights the absolute destitution and despair that exists in the lower castes of India. The style of the book is such that the reader follows Leela through various incidents in her day-to-day life. The book does not provide a lot of information about the history of India, the class system, or Leela's ch...more
My review in Shelf Awareness:
"Beautiful Thing is a portrait that begins in profile: "Leela's face was a perfect heart," Sonia Faleiro writes. "And knowing well the elegance of her little nose, Leela would flaunt it like an engagement ring. On certain evenings at the dance bar, when she needed to increase the padding of hundred rupee notes in her bra, Leela would engage only in silhouette."
Faleiro met 19-year-old Leela while she was researching an article on Bombay's "bar dancers," the thousands...more
"Beautiful Thing is a portrait that begins in profile: "Leela's face was a perfect heart," Sonia Faleiro writes. "And knowing well the elegance of her little nose, Leela would flaunt it like an engagement ring. On certain evenings at the dance bar, when she needed to increase the padding of hundred rupee notes in her bra, Leela would engage only in silhouette."
Faleiro met 19-year-old Leela while she was researching an article on Bombay's "bar dancers," the thousands...more
Beautiful Thing is a fascinating read, opening a window into a world I suspect most of us never knew about, much less imagined. The women of Bombay's dance bars sell themselves in every way imaginable - through dancing, through sex, through their involvement in the criminal underground. These women proudly wear the hallmark of survivors.
Whether or not you find it in yourself to admire these women, once you've read this book you will at least understand what extreme poverty, gender discrimination...more
Whether or not you find it in yourself to admire these women, once you've read this book you will at least understand what extreme poverty, gender discrimination...more
Dec 04, 2010
Rohan
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Rohan by:
My friend
What can I say about this book that hasn't been said before? It's shocking, moving, heartbreaking. It's a new Maximum City. It's the story of a bar dancer and her downward spiral into the circle of hell that is the Bombay underworld. It's the story of the author's friendship with the bar dancer and of how they grow together as individuals. And it's the story of India like it has never been told.
I bought this book, then I bought three more copies for family and friends. It's unforgettable.
I bought this book, then I bought three more copies for family and friends. It's unforgettable.
Faleiro befriends Leela, a bar dancer in a squalid area of Mumbai. Leela is witty, smart, and calculating. She, along with many of her contemporaries, has escaped a horrific childhood in a nearby village at a very brave age 13. The backstories of each of the women was gutwrenching and very hard to read. Faleiro does a good job of describing her relationship with Leela while keeping the focus on Leela's life overall, and keeping a balance between showing the ways in which Leela and her peers are...more
Won as a First Read winner.
Starting off choppily, the author's tale of the sex industry in Bombai is somewhat poorly constructed, with interesting information but set up in a disjointed manner that lacked structure. However, after the first several sections, the writing picks up and the interesting tidbits that first persuaded me to continue reading keep coming. The author's first nonfiction work, the structure and writing style needs development, but the reporting was top notch.
Starting off choppily, the author's tale of the sex industry in Bombai is somewhat poorly constructed, with interesting information but set up in a disjointed manner that lacked structure. However, after the first several sections, the writing picks up and the interesting tidbits that first persuaded me to continue reading keep coming. The author's first nonfiction work, the structure and writing style needs development, but the reporting was top notch.
An interesting read, I appreciated Faleiro's ability to let the lives of Leela, Priya, Masti...tell their stories without the added veneer of morality that so often accompanies this subject matter.
Even though I'm Indian and familiar with the context, greater analysis and contextualisation of the ban, the buildup to it would've really given the latter half of the book more depth and sensitisation.
It is slow going and the narrative voice could've been tighter, but the stories are incredibly compe...more
Even though I'm Indian and familiar with the context, greater analysis and contextualisation of the ban, the buildup to it would've really given the latter half of the book more depth and sensitisation.
It is slow going and the narrative voice could've been tighter, but the stories are incredibly compe...more
Horrific story of sexual abuse, rape, and molestation. Between the dehumanization and devaluing of women of all ages, coupled with the sheer brutality of overpopulation, it is a wonder anyone even has a chance. Survival is a matter of developing callouses. And the cycle spins within cycles of violence.
The biggest fault of the book is the composite nature of the narrative. I sensed that many of side players were based on several interviews, which is a sort of lazy nonfiction technique usually dep...more
The biggest fault of the book is the composite nature of the narrative. I sensed that many of side players were based on several interviews, which is a sort of lazy nonfiction technique usually dep...more
Heart-breaking and difficult to read at times when hearing about what some of the bar dancers go through, especially when they grew up. Bottom line is: they do what they have to do to survive, especially when the bar dancing ban is put in place.
As someone who has never been to India and is unfamiliar with Indian culture, the language (some phrases are not in English, though usually a translation is provided) and references made to Indian culture throughout this book did not have much meaning to...more
As someone who has never been to India and is unfamiliar with Indian culture, the language (some phrases are not in English, though usually a translation is provided) and references made to Indian culture throughout this book did not have much meaning to...more
Could have happily spent the rest of my life not know that a bar owner in this book has constipation issues and picks "it" out then carries on with his day with out washing his hands. - considered aborting this book at this point. But that says more about me and not the subject matter as the real disgust, shock and repulsion should be towards the fate of women in this society.
The story was well told but I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it had not been for the author's obsession with phonetic translation of local words to English. At certain locations, it seemed that the author was deliberately making fun of the local pronunciation. I'm not against phonetic translation when the true meaning of the word may not be conveyed or if the translation is integral to the story being told. But the author was using the technique blatantly without any particular theme...more
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| South Asian Liter...: March 2012 | 4 | 27 | Apr 04, 2012 11:19am |
Sonia Faleiro is an award-winning reporter and writer. She is the author of a book of fiction, The Girl (Viking, 2006) and one book of non-fiction, Beautiful Thing: Inside the Secret World of Bombay’s Dance Bars (Hamish Hamilton India, 2010/Grove Atlantic, 2012).
The New York Times hailed Beautiful Thing as ‘an intimate and valuable piece of reportage that will break your heart several times over.’...more
More about Sonia Faleiro...
The New York Times hailed Beautiful Thing as ‘an intimate and valuable piece of reportage that will break your heart several times over.’...more
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