Milk Teeth by Amrita Mahale
Book – Milk Teeth
Author – Amrita Malhale
Publisher – Context (Westland Publisher) – November 2018
Genre – Literary fiction
No. of pages – 312
Rating – 5/5
About the book –
Childhood allies Ira Kamat and Kartik Kini meet on the terrace of their building in Matunga, Mumbai. A meeting is in progress to decide the fate of the establishment and its residents.
Ira is now a journalist on the civic beat, unearthing stories of corruption and indolence, and trying to push back memories of a lost love. Kartik works a corporate job with an MNC, and leads a secret, agonising, exhilarating second life. Between and around them throbs the living, beating heart of Mumbai, city of heaving inequities and limitless dreams.
Review Video – You can watch the review video on my Youtube channel too – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ03TT7PBbM&t=200s
The book was longlisted for JCB Literature Prize 2018, TATA literature Fest, 2019 and shortlisted for Crossword Book Awards 2019!
Review –
Milk Teeth is the debut work of Amrita Mahale and the story revolves around Ira, Kartik and Kaiz – set in the 70s, 80s and the 90s time period.
Literally everything that describes Bombay is in this book. From re-development talks, Mumbai locals to the Babri Masjid incident, Amrita Mahale has depicted a fresh and original fictional take on everything.
To be honest, this work of fiction did not feel like fiction to me because everything felt so real! The book talks about the temporariness and how when any or every knot is untied, a Milk Teeth falls. It talks about anger, the discrimination, the societal struggle and the reputation one thrives to maintain in front of the society by letting go of ones comfort.
The struggles the characters went through are very genuine and real. The book made me nostalgic with the characters childhood and had me completely hooked.
Read this book to read about Bombay to Mumbai transition. Read this book to know about the little things about Mumbai. Read this book to understand how we struggle with love, relations and family. There is no unwanted talking and the plot smoothly keeps moving with surprises and twists. Definitely recommended!
Milk Teeth is subtle, incisive, un-put-downable.
About the Author –
Amrita Mahale was born in Mumbai. She was trained as an aerospace engineer at IIT Bombay and Stanford University. This is her first novel.
– Kinjal Parekh
