Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

Reviews

“Warning: If you begin reading the book in the morning, don’t expect to get anything done the rest of the day. . . . In Jai, Anappara has created a boy vivid in his humanity, one whose voice somersaults on the page. . . . Her storytelling genius, it might be assumed, must be rooted in her reporter’s eye for detail. But that handy formula misses the heat and mystery of what Anappara creates.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[Jai’s] remarkable voice retains a stubborn lightness, a will to believe in the possibility of deliverance in this fallen world.”—The Washington Post

“A brilliant debut.”—Ian McEwan

“Storytelling at its best—not just sympathetic, vivid, and beautifully detailed, but completely assured and deft . . . We care about these characters from the first page and our concern for them is richly repaid.”—Anne Enright, Man Booker Prize–winning author of The Gathering

“A stunningly original tale . . . I stayed up late every night until I finished, reluctant to part from Deepa Anappara’s heart-stealing characters.”—Etaf Rum, New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man

“[An] entrancing novel . . . full of humor, warmth, and heartbreak . . . Anappara paints all of her characters, even the lost ones, with deep empathy, and her prose is winningly exuberant. . . . Engaging characters, bright wit, and compelling storytelling make a tale that’s bleak at its core profoundly moving.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A model of verisimilitude . . . [Jai] comes to life on the page to live on in readers’ memories.”—Booklist

“[Anappara’s] bright, propulsive prose . . . only accentuates the seriousness of her subject: the disappearance of children from villages in India, a real-life issue give intimate treatment here.”—Library Journal

“Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line is a moving and confident novel about the preciousness of life. The storytelling is distinctive and immersive.”—Nikesh Shukla, editor of The Good Immigrant

“Deepa Anappara is a writer of considerable talent. This is a wonderful, energetic book filled with humour and pathos. Charming, sensitive and deeply moving.”—Nathan Filer, Costa Book Award­–winning author of The Shock of the Fall

“The children at the heart of this story will stay with you long after you turn the last page . . . A wonderful debut.”—Christie Watson, bestselling author of The Language of Kindness

“A magnificent achievement: the endeavours of the Djinn Patrol offer us a captivating world of wit, warmth and heartbreak, beautifully crafted through a child’s unique perspective.”—Mahesh Rao, author of Polite Society

“Extraordinarily good, deeply moving and thought provoking with brilliant characterization . . . A very important book.”—Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange

“A profoundly emphatic work of creative genius that will stay with you forever.”—Sonia Faleiro, author of Beautiful Thing

“A richly textured rendition of a world little seen in Indian literature . . . There is no desire to smooth and tidy in fiction what is untidy in life, but instead there is a payoff for the reader in a story that is as quietly troubling as it is convincing.”—Mridula Koshy, author of If It Is Sweet Expand reviews