Murzban F. Shroff

Breathless in Bombay accompanied me on a long train journey recently. During the trip, I read the book in two sittings. For me, the true test of any writing about a country I have never seen is that the writing transports me there. Instantly. I want to see it. Hear it. Smell the scents on the air. Be able to walk outside the stories and down the street to explore a little bit.

Breathless in Bombay did all that for me from the opening scene. Each story brings a different view of contemporary life and living in Bombay. I went places with this book I am certain never to go in "real life."

There were a few tales that fell a little short of the mark. One that I felt might have been set in almost any large city. But for the most part, they held me captive.

This is an author I will look for again.… (meer)

I was a bit disappointed by Shroff's book. I found the dialogue a bit stilted; it was almost as though I was reading a work in translation rather than one written in English. It's a cliche, but one always hears that writers should "show" rather than "tell," and I felt Shroff's descriptive language was a bit too heavy on the showing. Still, the stories are interesting in that they are obviously the product of someone deeply knowledgeable about the city of Bombay, and in that sense, I found the book edifying.… (meer)