Book Review: Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi

“Wasn’t it enough that our bodies, our limbs hurt? Why did we also have to hurt in our heart, the pain tucked so deeply in the soft tissue that we couldn’t just pluck it out?”

Alka Joshi, Six Days in Bombay

Review:

At first, I thought this was going to be an intriguing read. Painfully slow to start, but surely worth it… I’d hoped. 

Sona befriends a patient who’s suffered a miscarriage. She lives vicariously through Mira’s stories about her life as an artist. When Mira is later readmitted to the hospital and passes away, Sona is immediately under suspicion. Adding to the mystery is a note that Mira left for her along with paintings that she wants to be delivered. 

The first third of the book builds to Mira’s death, which is mentioned plainly in the synopsis, but is written as though it was intended not to be revealed until it happened. I might not have felt like it was dragging if I hadn’t known what to expect ahead of time. But even after that, the shift in the story was so drastic. It became fast-paced with a bunch of new elements added to the plot line. It was dizzying after such a slow beginning. 

The biggest letdown was the ending, and most of the elements that built to that ending. I didn’t find that the characters redeemed the story, either. I wanted to like Sona, and I felt for her in both her work and home environments, but I found her irritating as the story progressed. I wasn’t taken in by Mira at all, either. 

There was so much potential in this book, and I think further developmental edits could have helped. Too much happened that didn’t correlate with each other. Plots and characters dropped off to move on to the next topic with little to no closure. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• I loved the setting. I don’t read too much that revolves around the medical field and I found it interesting.
• Sona’s relationship with her mother.

What I didn’t like:

• Inconsistent pacing.
• The story felt indecisive in direction.
• Not enough character development, especially in personal matters.
• Confusing by the end.

Afterthoughts:

I’m so glad that this was a buddy read with my friend Skylar, so I had someone to discuss this with and try to make sense of it. Our feelings about the book were mutual.

Where to buy the book: