Book Review: Boys Without Names by Kashmira Seth

Boys without Names is a captivating title. However, as the story advances it becomes predictable. Gopal- a teenager from a village - arrives in Mumbai with his family to find work to overcome their poverty status. Instead of finding work in a right way, he lands in the wretched child labour mess. In a decrepit home, on the outskirts of the city, he is put to work along with some more boys. There the boys are being herded and tortured by an ugly and stout man (he is also nameless). They work and live in strict confinement without knowing each other’s name, like aloof prisoners.

At times, the writer takes Gopal back to his village and often shows his deep emotional touch with his family and its hardship. One can profess that like Mulk Raj Anand’s books the theme of the book is based on humanitarian compassion, but somehow the shallow intensity of the characters and their less-defined roles makes it a wishy-washy read. And other boys’ accounts and backgrounds have totally been seconded by the writer by keeping all the focus on the main character.

Somehow, the boys manage to escape from that prison-like home but the events leading to their escape aren’t enthralling, rather simple and not so adventurous. The book highlights the plight of child labour which still persists in many metropolis cities of India. It has neither concrete background settings nor enough boiled-up climaxes, but still a simple read.

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