A Cobra's Bite Doesn't Hurt

Oh, I love the ingenuity of this book! Who would have thought that it'd be in the form of a letter and not just any letter but one addressed to the Prime Minister of India and from a Street Urchin nonetheless.
I love Kalu's honesty and what hurt me most as I read this was how he took me along those streets in India, the hopes of children, the hurt and betrayal they experience at the hands of adults, the corrupt police and I was even angered by how the depiction of politicians in this book rings true for most of those in my country, Kenya. Same goes for the police!
Thanks Netgalley for the eARC

This jewel of a novel is magnificent storytelling on a vast scale. This vast canvas shines a light on the Indian subcontinent with all it's poverty, hardship, squalor and street crime. But it is the characters who inhabit the story that bring it to life in such an unforgettable fashion. The author has a deep understanding and connection with his creations, reminding me of the great Charles Dickens.
In fact, at times it reads almost like a homage to 'Oliver Twist' with the orphanage and the pickpockets and it isn't difficult to spot the Indian equivalents of Oliver, the Artful Dodger, Fagin, Bill Sikes and Nancy.
This is a work of art that is brave enough to lift the lid on the poor man's India where everyone must fight for leftovers.
A compelling story of tragedy and triumph told with integrity and elegance.

A story set in modern India, written with knowledge of the country and the people, the hardships, poverty, crimes and violence if you don’t comply with the ‘bosses’.

Kalu is dropped off at an orphanage where hunger and cruelty is the norm. He plans to escape with a friend, but the friend takes off without him. He is discouraged and determined to find out why. Shortly after kalu is kidnapped and sent to learn how to pickpocket. This is where the reader learns how pickpockets operate! Kalu, is determined to make a better life for himself, and ends up stealing from his boss and taking off.

The story is dictated into an old recording machine, then a second newer one so his friend Sanyo can type it up. It is written to the Prime Minister of India! The ending is rather abrupt, but maybe there will be a sequel. A book you cannot put down easily, I throughly enjoyed it.

This is a beautiful read, one that shows that love can triumph over all, but it's upsetting at times when we reflect on the poverty, crime and harsh realities that face the poor of India every day. While there is much wealth in that beautiful country it is unequally distributed and children, snatched from the hands of those entrusted with their care, are manipulated and subjected to lives of crime and violence. Such was the story of Kalu. A trained pick pocketer after being snated from his orphanage. This life is one many are subjected to, too afraid to run for fear of death or afraid of being alone. But despite the fear, Kalu did escape, and this is his story. It is a wonderful story, very well written and engrossing throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

While reading about another culture and continent is always a learning experience, many people stick to travelogues written by someone like themselves. If you are from a poor Indian family, much of this tale will not be any surprise. If, like me, you come from a country with more wealth and higher standards (if only in the last generation or two) this version of Oliver Twist will enlighten you as to the poverty, exploitation, crime, bribery and general corruption in the teeming streets of Indian cities and towns.

The story appears to be mainly a copy of Oliver Twist, with Q&A (Slumdog Millionaire) characters. From the rural orphanage to the metropolitan streets, we meet the abused poor children, the trashy pickpocket gangsters, the pretty girl held in a lifestyle above that of our main character, Kalu, alternately hero of his own story and antihero. The city of Haridwar in Uttarakhand state; Bangalore; Kolkata. When children are not being abused and beaten, they are made to be pickpockets, sent down sewers to clean them or beaten up by police looking for bribes. Violence and strong language are the first resorts of the ignorant. Having met a college student, who expands his vocabulary, Kalu first dictates his memoir into a dictaphone, then gets the rest typed on a laptop. He intends this as a letter to his nation's leader; not the first time this device has been used, but maybe a good idea as we wonder just how much reality the top politicians know. But would he confess to a major crime in such a document? I see no reason why Kalu would, who has lied often to save his skin.

I am sure India is also full of beauty, worth and opportunity, but this is an unbalanced story in that respect. Certainly, we could wonder why foreign aid is given to a country which spends on nuclear arms and a space race, when the aid just relieves the state of the necessity of providing care, and much money (from either source) is, we are shown, stolen anyway. Read this if you want to explore the background tourists don't see, the gritty and stinking back streets.

I received an ARC download from Net Galley. I chose to read in my own time. This is an unbiased review.

This is a book that will stay with me.
It is very different to other books than I have read
It was written so well and will stay with me for a long time