Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line: 2020's most 'heartrending' debut and a BBC Radio 2 book club pick
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By Deepa Anappara
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1 review
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We children are not just stories.
We live. Come and see. Nine-year-old Jai watches too many reality cop shows, thinks he’s smarter than his friend Pari (even though she always gets top marks) and considers himself to be a better boss than Faiz (even though Faiz is the one with a job). When a boy at school goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from episodes of Police Patrol to find him.
With Pari and Faiz by his side, Jai ventures into some of the most dangerous parts of the sprawling Indian city; the bazaar at night, and even the railway station at the end of the Purple Line.
But kids continue to vanish, and the trio must confront terrified parents, an indifferent police force and soul-snatching djinns in order to uncover the truth.
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Endearingly narrated by a 9 year old, slum-dwelling boy in India this novel manages to tell a horrific story of social inequalities, official corruption, violence and disappearing children through the voice of a child. At times the story is very sweet and funny which contrasts hugely and alarmingly with the absolute horror of what is actually going on. It makes very unpalatable truths very readable.
