This book was breathtaking. It was written in a style that reminded me of Khaled Hosseini (one of my favorite authors). In fact, I thought this book was fiction until I read the back cover about halfway through and realized that it was journalistic reporting.

Katherine Boo is brutally honest in her depictions of life in the Annawadi slum, but she also shares the stories of individuals in a way that does not victimize them. So many stories about poverty makes the reader simply feel bad for those who are trapped within that bitter cycle; it makes it audience pity a distant and faceless "them." And while Boo shows clearly how the human beings in her book are trapped in poverty and struggling to find any change at all, she also shows them as they are: strong, innovative, resilient, intelligent, courageous.

I strongly encourage anyone to read Behind the Beautiful Forevers. Excellent narrative.