Possibly in early January 2007 I was wondering a bookstore (probably Chapters) in downtown Toronto with Arpi, and he pointed out Londonstani, and said a friend was reading it and said it was quite delightful. However even a week later I could only remember that I was recommended to read some book with a pink tiger on the cover.

This pink tiger however, was, of course, only on the british edition and thus it took me quite a few months to figure out what book exactly I was meant to be reading, but I will say — the search was more than worth it.

Gautam Malkani’s debut novel, is honest and british, and has good trying characters that you want to fight for and you want to punch in the face. The dialogue, specifically his ear for slang, is very well captured, and I (obviously) highly recommend this short novel.

Epilepsy, electricity, Electricity.
A unique, zany narrative of emptiness.
An abrupt character, Lily, with epilepsy lost in the story of her own life, looking for answers to so many questions after her mother (the reason for her epilepsy) dies.

Written interestingly and perfectly shapes and reflects Lily’s scatterbrained bluntness with its expression and style. Her quirkiness and seizures pull you through the story while her passion and determination push you. The story is as striking as the character.

I couldn’t tell the difference between menstruation and protractors or compass. Big words like that just make me feel sad.