a better title for the book would be "Bombay - The other side of the story" - Rated 
I bought this book because the title intrigued me and it was a Pulitzer finalist and so I was expecting something perhaps special and comprehensive. I was expecting an insight into the essence of the city and what keeps it ticking. But, halfway through this book, I realised that the city and its spirit were lost, never to be found again in the rest of the book!
There was so much promise and so little delivered in this book. There is so much that is the spirit of the city lacking in this book. It is too much and too little at the same time - too much of power and darkness and frivoulous bollywood and too little of the people who make it, their indomitable spirit and sense of respect for individuals and their privacy, the melting pot that makes the city a thriving trade center, too little of the industries and the dynasties that originated here and are the backbone of the spectacular run of India Inc.
All in all, if the book had been renamed as "gangs of bombay", the author's writing would have done justice to the title
Interesting read, - Rated 
This book certainly peels away the layers of what it is like to live in Bombay, a City like no other in the world. Suketu Mehta spends a lot of time with movers and players in the City - those who belong to the overworld, not the underworld. Their interviews I found frank and candid, and very chilling. Hitmen who kill for a few pounds, anyone, for honour, or rival gang members. Gives a reasonable insight into Bollywood and its troubles. Although the book does seem to run out of steam for the last quarter and tail off into nothingness. Still worth a read because of above.
A Long & Bumpy Ride, But Well Worth It In The End - Rated
This is a great book that takes you through the highs and desperate lows of life in the world's busiest city. As densely packed as the city it describes, you'll feel you've spent two years there yourself once finished. Mehta takes his time - this is a not a book for those who need instant rewards - but it's only through doing so that he illustrates how Bombay's very nature draws out humanity in all its colours.
Beautifully written, sensitive and painstakingly precise, but be warned: this is no guidebook.
Ignore the whingers. This is a good book! - Rated 
Fell asleep reading it? Too long? Too self-indulgent? These people must have read the wrong book. Or the right book in the wrong way.
I thoroughly enjoyed it myself. The landscape of people is broad, unsentimental and nicely coloured: all human life is here. There is a degree of soul-searching, on the part not just of the author but of many of the people he meets, but this, I think, is a condition of being an Indian these days, and in particular, an Indian in such a weird and wild city as Bombay. Or Mumbai, if you prefer. (The author doesn't!)
I thoroughly recommend it - and you don't need to know much about the people, the place or the culture to enjoy it, you really don't.
A yawn a minute! - Rated 
This book was recommended on a recent trip to India and I thought it was an appropriate book to read when we hit Mumbai. The book was a yawn a minute! I am sorry to say I found it so tedious, I gave up half way through; I can normally get through any book. What I found difficult to deal with were the Indian terms and phrases which were invariably not explained. Coupled with that, the author talks about Indian personalities such as politicians and gangster-types, which might well mean more to a local person than it did to me. This is not a book I would recommended unless you are from Mumbai and are familiar with local phraseology and personalities.
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