Monday, October 18, 2010

Londonstani-- Guatam Malkani


I don't know about this one.

The first third of the book was almost unreadable. (And not because it's written in British-desi slang, innit.) After pages of pointless violence and generally intense negativity, the book starts to get clever. Then it gets too clever for its own good. By the last third, every chapter ends with a "gotcha"-- the last of these moments is so smug that I would have stopped reading, except it was the last line of the book.

Londonstani got fabulous press for being "multicultural" and "comic," but the ironic use of stereotype quickly becomes tedious. You can only follow around a bunch of desi rudeboy haterz for so long. By the end, the grating misogyny becomes almost unbearable.

If you decide to brave this one, the glossary in the back will give you a patronizing breakdown of the lingo, including "dis" (this), "dat" (that), and "dem" (they). Thanks for that, bruv.

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