This book starts with a death and ends with a funeral. The in-between is all about what makes us human. Krishan, the protagonist, goes on a massive nostalgic run through everything that has made him who he is, all the experiences that have shaped him. The death of his family's closest friend made him revaluate life, pick it apart and ask all those scary questions you keep at the back of your brain.

Anuk Arudpragasam's writing style is very beautiful. This book is full of long, eloquent sentences that are beautiful to see and hear. The narrative style reminds me, in some ways, of Dickens, but very slightly. However, although the long sentences allowed some beautiful description and such, I sometimes found myself feeling like I was trudging through the narrative, like fighting to walk through sludge. The two instances of shorter sentences are very effective in their emphasis and melancholia, though. I just wished they happened more frequently throughout the text.