Monday, February 4, 2013


Pages 1-50

Katherine Boo's writing presents me with a type of culture writing that I am not used to. When I think of non fiction writing I think of facts and data and word for word interviews. Her novelistic writing style paints true life people and events as characters in a narrative. For example, the entire description of Abdul hiding on top of a pile of garbage in a small shack and the feelings running through his head are presented to us through a third person omniscient view point which makes it read entirely like a story. However, this is what makes Boo's writing style intriguing and captivating to read. It is informative and heart wrenching because it is true, but also incapable of being put down because you want to know what happens next. 
The way Boo divides up her chapters by exploring the lives of different people or characters is another thing that can be learned through her writing. She focuses on a specific person in each section but through their thoughts and activities the reader meets and begins to understand other characters and other facets of the Annawadi community and lifestyle. For instance, in the chapter entitled "Manju", not only do we go deeper inside of her head and learn about her exhausting twenty hour days, we learn more about Asha. Such as how Asha makes it appear that she teaches the small school but it is really Manju. Overall, the main themes and structures I have gathered thus far in the book from Boo's writing is that of a novelistic approach to non fiction. Also, the choice to explain certain characters and their families and individual stories in different chapters while also providing information about other characters through encounters and surroundings. 

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