What a beautifully written story! Hard to believe that this is the debut work from the author. Set in a turbulent times in the city of Bombay's history, the story is an emotional rollercoaster. I would be eagerly awaiting future works from the author

“The Unbroken Coast” is Nalini Jones debut novel…..but she also published a collection of short stories called “What You Call Winter”: Stories (I already purchased it and started reading it too)

Nalini Jones is a new discovery for me — a wonderful discovery.
In “The Unbroken Coast” she takes the reader on an intriguing, journey, full of exciting discoveries, intricate descriptions of sights, smells, culture, history, with a full range of emotions of hardship’s, humiliation, helplessness, strength, pride, faith, and love.
The characters — both primary and supporting - have distinct characteristics and struggles.

A little history….
“The renaming of Bombay to Mumbai in 1995 was a period of significant turbulence, marked by strong opposition and intertwined with political and social tensions, particularly those related to Marathi identity and the Shiv Sena party. This shift followed a long-standing demand by the state government of Maharashtra to restore the city's original name, which they argued was a corrupted English version of Mumbai”.

“Spanning the turbulent years when Bombay became Mumbai, at time when environmental and economic pressures are just beginning to change the fortunes of indigenous fisherfolk, “The Unbroken Coast” is a lyrical novel that explores memory, faith, storytelling, and the nature of home”.

We meet Francis Almeida, an aging historian. He’s recently retired when he encounters a young mother, praying for her baby, ill with dengue fever.
“Nearly a decade later he meets a child again. Her name is Celia D’Mello, daughter of the fisherman who was running from a debt collector.
When an accident brings their families together, both Celia and Francis find themselves with unexpected new allies”.

Fisherman knew the waters the way they knew their wives. Possibly better!
Gossip stories were always buzzing around the fishing village.
….monster boats, fat-cat man who paid no attention monsoon bans, men who dragged their nets across the sea floor so that even the baby fish were swallowed up.
Every child in the village knew the bay was a sad old story.
Fish would make everything right. But there was a lot to worry about when the fish in the bay was gone.
Rain storms and cyclones created fear and challenges.
“Sometimes there were waves so high that a boat was tossed to pieces, and the men were never found”.

“All along the road, fisherwomen sat on plastic crates to sell the day’s catch.
No one was ever entirely alone in Bombay. Someone was always walking or watching, selling, or buying, jogging, or scolding, drinking, or begging, tending a fire, awaiting a train, wiping a windshield. hailing an autorick, sifting through rubbish, slapping a bullock, sleeping in a doorway. A dog ate from the street gutter. A man ducked his head for a roadside barber. Girls laughed on a balcony”.

This novel is 480 pages. It covers much more than I could possibly dish out.
I’ve been to India yet I never had the experience of a Catholic fishing village and its community. This novel delivers the experience.
The storytelling is both scholarly and accessible…. making the reader feel as though we are invited to be one of villagers.

Enjoyable…educational…intelligent…heartbreaking and heartwarming …with old fashion-styling….
If you love reading books set in India ….🇮🇳 …..this is a great pick.

*The Unbroken Coast* is a beautifully written debut that weaves together the lives of a retired professor and a young girl in a Mumbai fishing village. Set against the backdrop of a transforming city, the novel explores themes of memory, faith, and the search for belonging, as the unlikely friendship between Francis and Celia unfolds amidst personal and societal upheaval. With its lyrical prose, this story captures the deep emotional resonance of place and the passage of time.