Bombay Blues

Gr 10 Up—In this lengthy sequel to Born Confused (Scholastic, 2002), 19-year-old, American born NYU student, Dimple Lala travels to Bombay with her Indian parents and her longtime DJ boyfriend, Karsh Kapoor, to attend the wedding of a cousin, Sangita. As Dimple immerses herself in family, culture, photography, music, love, and a search for self, Karsh embarks on his own spiritual journey, which draws him away from her. Traditions begin to falter when Sangita abruptly announces she is not marrying but instead pursuing a burgeoning art career. Sangita's sister, Kavita, opens up to the family about her homosexuality. While Dimple struggles to understand her unraveling relationship with Karsh, she has a spontaneous sexual affair with a "Cowboy" she just met. The protagonist and her remarkably progressive desi parents help Sangita and Kavita's traditional parents accept the liberated lives of their daughters. Visits to Bombay locales, temples, and landmarks add vivid authenticity to this middle-class story of self-discovery. Dimple narrates the ups and downs of her spiritual, cultural, sexual, and social journey in a challenging, often rhythmic "blues" style of inventive words, elliptical phrasing, colors, music, and artistic references. While the previous book engaged and informed readers about the protagonist's bicultural angst, this work assumes a familiarity with Hindi terms, Bollywood references, indie music and musicians, and street-art culture that may perplex less knowledgable teens. Nonetheless, for Dimple, exploring Bombay becomes a liberating metaphor for expressing passions and establishing beliefs.—Gerry Larson, formerly at Durham School of the Arts, NC