“If there was one thing I feared as I was growing up . . . No, that's stupid. I feared hundreds of things: the dark, the death of my father, the possibility that I might rejoice the death of my mother, sums involving vernier calipers, groups of schoolboys with nothing much to do, death by drowning. But of all these, I feared the most the possibility that I might go mad too.”
This book delves into the complexities of family dynamics and the search for personal identity, focusing on the life of a young woman named Em and her relationship with her father, known as the Big Hoom. more
Jerry Pinto is an Indian writer born in 1966. His works are known for their vivid portrayal of the everyday life in Mumbai's underbelly, particularly his skill in depicting the psychology and emotions of the socially marginalized. Pinto's writing style is delicate and empathetic, and his works have received widespread acclaim both in India and internationally. more
“Killing don’t need no reason. This is ghetto. Reason is for rich people. We have madness.”
“The mind builds walls. The heart, when allowed, builds windows.”
“Great wits are to madness near allied And thin partitions do their bounds divide.”
“And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense?”
“Magda looks at me as if I've gone mad. Or I've grown up. It's kind of the same thing.”
“…madness is not hysteria. It can be very quiet…”
“What you hold in silence often shapes you more than what you say aloud.”