Name: Milk Teeth
ISBN: 9789387894327

Amrita Mahale

Milk Teeth

Ditipriya Acharya

I was absolutely loving this book till we came to the last few chapters. What happened and why was the author in such a hurry to wrap things up? Or actually not wrap things up at all. I get ambiguous endings but this was slightly frustrating, not to say very unsatisfactory. The world building and atmosphere was immaculate.

The Hissing Saint

Milk Teeth

Book 12/60

This book was in some way a nostalgia trip. I completed my 11th and 12th from Khalsa College at Matunga and a lot of that time involved walks and rides through the quiet leafy back roads stretching from Dadar to Sion where couples would gather behind cars, the gardens and of course the sleepy buildings with large balconies each with their own unique character. 

Its a place that I have seen change rapidly - the old buildings giving way to snazzy structures with fancy names and glitzy cars yet with none of the quiet elegance and the promise of stories galore! 

Milk Teeth sets it's story in a Matunga at the cusp of change. A quiet middle class residential building finds its tenants lockedin a struggle with their landlord over a redevelopment project. Told from the eyes of childhood friends Ira and Kartik who each battle their own demons, the author deftly paints a picture of a rapidly changing city where the vintage of a relationship holds little water. 

Although Milk Teeth restricts itself to Matunga it is still the tale of Mumbai and how the rapid change in its skyline threatens to erode the character and personality of both the city and it's inhabitants! 

A beautiful read that leaves you with a tinge of sadness!

Freeda Lobo

Quite an endearing read, right from the start to finish. 

This was the first time I stumbled upon a book with characters I could associate with, due to lineage and culture. But what I loved most was how the author sketched out Old Bombay, the emerging New Mumbai, & the not-so-prominent transformation of a city with a name change. This was the Bombay of the 90's; the Bombay we all grew to love; the Bombay we can never forget; the Bombay that remains. 

It is quite astonishing to not be able to hate or forget any character, big or small, in this book. As much as you can love the strong-willed nature Irawati Kamath was depicted to have, you can definitely not miss out on Pandu Mhatre's obscurity within the story. Every character was very well-thought out, and presented like a banquet of sweet and savoury, in the right balance, and prominence. 

Though the climax was a little predictive, it didn't choke up the innocence of the entire story.

I started reading this book without reading the blurb and with no expectations.

I enjoyed it immensely. It's definitely a book I would keep going back to and I loved that in the end, everything came around in a full circle. It was beautiful, the way the author describes the intricate details of Bombay. 

It definitely lives up to the review it has gotten, "unputdownable".

Gayatri Rao 

Amrita Mahale has a very elegant and descriptive style and it shows in this book, it's a book that is very heavy in description. She captures the time period it is set in, the underlying socio-cultural issues and geography perfectly. The very vivid descriptions of Bombay are beautiful. 

The characters arcs also develop very nicely, they remain true to their nature, with growth in some, till the very end. All her characters are very true to the time they live in and their mentality mirrors that. 

It's not a typical romance that guarantees a happily ever after, at least not in the conventional and stereotypical sense. 

It's very hard to put down the book once you begin, and you will not regret your decision to read it.

Nia C

Reading Milk Teeth was like reading a love letter to Bombay. 

I enjoyed the book immensely, the writing was crisp and flowed beautifully. The characters were rich, flawed and mesmerizing humans to read about. If you want to feel nostalgic about Bombay, this is a fantastic read.

Milk Teeth

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