Best Selling Books by Katherine Boo

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • ONE OF TIME’S TEN BEST NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE DECADE • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES’S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21ST CENTURY “Inspiring . . . extraordinary . . . [Katherine Boo] shows us how people in the most desperate circumstances can find the resilience to hang on to their humanity. Just as important, she makes us care.”—People “A tour de force of social justice reportage and a literary masterpiece.”—Judges, PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times • The Washington Post • O: The Oprah Magazine • USA Today • New York • The Miami Herald • San Francisco Chronicle • Newsday In this breathtaking book by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human through the dramatic story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport. As India starts to prosper, the residents of Annawadi are electric with hope. Abdul, an enterprising teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Meanwhile Asha, a woman of formidable ambition, has identified a shadier route to the middle class. With a little luck, her beautiful daughter, Annawadi’s “most-everything girl,” might become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest children, like the young thief Kalu, feel themselves inching closer to their dreams. But then Abdul is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy; terror and global recession rock the city; and suppressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power, and economic envy turn brutal. With intelligence, humor, and deep insight into what connects people to one another in an era of tumultuous change, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, based on years of uncompromising reporting, carries the reader headlong into one of the twenty-first century’s hidden worlds—and into the hearts of families impossible to forget. WINNER OF: The PEN Nonfiction Award • The Los Angeles Times Book Prize • The American Academy of Arts and Letters Award • The New York Public Library’s Helen Bernstein Book Award NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New Yorker • People • Entertainment Weekly • The Wall Street Journal • The Boston Globe • The Economist • Financial Times • Foreign Policy • The Seattle Times • The Nation • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • The Denver Post • Minneapolis Star Tribune • The Week • Kansas City Star • Slate • Publishers Weekly

Abdul ha sedici anni, o forse diciannove: i genitori confondono spesso le date di nascita dei loro nove figli. Vivono ad Annawadi, la baraccopoli che sorge sui terreni che appartengono all’autorità aeroportuale di Mumbai. La gente dell’aeroporto ha fatto costruire una barriera che separa lo slum dalla strada che porta al terminal internazionale. Chi la percorre vede solo un muro di cemento ricoperto dalla pubblicità di una marca di piastrelle, uno slogan che prende tutta la lunghezza della parete: belle per sempre, belle per sempre, belle per sempre. Oltre il muro, tremila persone vivono stipate in trecentotrentacinque baracche, anche sui tetti, sopravvivendo perlopiù grazie al commercio dei rifiuti. Intorno, c’è un Paese con una crescita economica senza precedenti nel mondo, tale da cambiare le cose perfino ad Annawadi. L’antico fatalismo, l’ineluttabilità delle caste cedono il passo alla fede in possibili cambiamenti. Gli abitanti adesso parlano di un’esistenza migliore con disinvoltura, come se la fortuna fosse un cugino che può presentarsi alla porta in un giorno di festa, come se il futuro non dovesse per forza assomigliare al passato. Fino al giorno in cui Fatima «la storpia», colei che più di tutti aveva sperato che la buona sorte toccasse anche a lei, si versa addosso il combustibile per cucinare e si dà fuoco con un fiammifero. Una terribile tragedia di cui, inaspettatamente, viene incolpato proprio il giovane Abdul. Dopo aver raccolto per anni le storie di Annawadi, il Premio Pulitzer Katherine Boo racconta con lo sguardo lucido della giornalista e l’empatia della scrittrice la vita dello slum indiano in un’epoca di mutamenti globali e disuguaglianze sociali sempre più feroci, la quotidianità nei bassifondi governati dalla corruzione e dal bruciante desiderio di riscatto. «L’irriducibile speranza dei personaggi di Belle per sempre ricorda i protagonisti di Furore di Steinbeck, con la pancia vuota ma mai sconfitti». william dalrymple, The Guardian «Un ritratto scioccante della vita nell’India moderna. Questa è narrative nonfiction al suo meglio». O: The Oprah Magazine «Commovente: una vicenda umana profonda e piena di coraggio. Una scrittura saggistica così potente da far impallidire la maggior parte dei romanzi». The Boston Globe

Eleito entre os 10 melhores livros de 2012 por: • The New York Times • The Washington Post • O: The Oprah Magazine • USA Today • The Miami Herald • San Francisco Chronicle e Newsday; Prefácio escrito pelo jornalista Zéca Camargo. Em Busca de um Final Feliz, é um livro brilhantemente escrito pela jornalista Katherine Boo, ganhadora do prêmio Pulitzer. Através de uma forte narrativa, descobrimos como é o dia a dia dos moradores de Annawadi, uma favela à sombra do elegante Aeroporto Internacional de Mumbai, na Índia. A história de seus habitantes nos faz rir e chorar, porque "o que é celebrado neste livro não é o que poderíamos chamar toscamente de ''o encanto da lama'', mas a riqueza das pessoas que — para o bem e para o mal — compõem um tronco social que está cada vez mais presente no nosso mundo moderno". (Zeca Camargo, em prefácio a esta edição). O leitor vai se apaixonar por Sunil Sharma, o menino catador de lixo que quer ficar rico, por Manju, a moça mais bonita da favela, que quer ser professora, e até pela tresloucada Fátima, a Perna Só, que só quer um pouco de atenção. Katherine Boo É redatora do The New Yorker, foi editora do The Washington Monthly e, por quase uma década, repórter e editora no The Washington Post, mas aprendeu a fazer reportagens no Washington City Paper. Passou os últimos 20 anos fazendo reportagens dentro de comunidades pobres, observando como as sociedades distribuem oportunidades e como os indivíduos escapam da pobreza. Já foi premiada pela MacArthur Foundation, recebeu o National Magazine Award for Feature Writing e ganhou o Pullitzer Prize.

Annawadi ist ein Slum jenseits des luxuriösen Flughafens von Mumbai. Hier wohnen Tausende Menschen in notdürftig errichteten Hütten. Eng ist es hier und schmutzig. Und nicht selten fallen hungrige Ratten nachts über die Kinder her. In Annawadi lebt Abdul, der Müllsammler. Dass er geschickt ist in seinem Job, dass er Müll zu sammeln, zu sortieren und weiterzuverkaufen weiß wie kein Zweiter, ruft viele Neider auf den Plan. Denn der Erfolg des einen bedeutet den möglichen Ruin des anderen. Und jeder in dem Slum kämpft mit allen Mitteln um die pure Existenz. Katherine Boo erzählt nicht nur die Geschichten der Menschen in Annawadi – sie erzählt auch von ihrer Hoffnung und ihrem Streben nach einem besseren Leben und von den Auswirkungen des westlichen Konsums bis in dieses Eckchen der Welt.

National Book Award 2012 À Annawadi, bidonville qui jouxte l’aéroport international de Mumbai, 3 000 personnes s’entassent dans quelque 300 masures étayées de ruban adhésif et de cordes. Avec Abdul, jeune trieur de déchets épris de justice et de pureté, avec Asha, la reine des magouilleuses, et sa fille Manju, qui fonde son avenir sur la lecture de Mrs Dalloway, ou encore avec Fatima l’unijambiste, indicible figure de l’horreur, Katherine Boo rappelle ce qu’être misérable veut dire. Pendant quatre ans, elle a suivi les habitants de ce bidonville ordinaire pour comprendre pourquoi, dans une Inde en pleine expansion économique, certains s’en sortent et d’autres non. Si l’histoire personnelle des individus ne suffit pas à tout expliquer, on pénètre pourtant d’autant mieux ce pays que l’auteure nous en apprend davantage sur la vie de chacun. Sans jamais tomber dans la caricature ni dans la leçon de morale, elle restitue de manière inoubliable ce lieu grouillant de vie en tentant de répondre à cette question : pourquoi nos sociétés inégales n’implosent-elles pas ? Katherine Boo est rédactrice pour le New Yorker, ancienne journaliste au Washington Post et lauréate du prix Pulitzer en 2000. Ces dernières années, elle a partagé son temps entre les États-Unis et l’Inde. Pour cet ouvrage, elle a remporté le prestigieux National Book Award en novembre 2012.

"NAJWAŻNIEJSZA KSIĄŻKA 2012 ROKU Witajcie w Annawadi, najbardziej rynsztokowej dzielnicy biedy Bombaju. Tutaj, na zachodnich obrzeżach finansowej stolicy Indii, obok nowoczesnego lotniska, żyje trzy tysiące ludzi ściśniętych w trzystu trzydziestu pięciu chatach lub na ich dachach. Od świata bogatych oddziela ich tylko mur, kłujący w oczy reklamą „zawsze pięknych” włoskich kafli podłogowych. Annawadi to całe życie Abdula, Aszy, Mandżu, Kalu i wielu innych bohaterów przejmującej książki Katherine Boo, którzy zgodzili się opowiedzieć o swojej codzienności, lękach, radościach i marzeniach. To świat małoletnich śmieciarzy, złodziei, ale i kobiet, które próbują zdobyć niezależność albo po prostu starają się wiązać koniec z końcem. Nikt nigdy wcześniej nie oddał im głosu, nikt nie pokazał z bliska ich codziennych zmagań. Katherine Boo spędziła z nimi trzy lata. „Poruszająca i przejmująca książka. Autorka wrzuca czytelnika w sam środek piekła slumsów i pokazuje, że nawet tam można odnaleźć swoje człowieczeństwo”. Anna Dziewit-Meller"

De sloppenwijk Annawadi is een geïmproviseerde nederzetting bij de luchthaven van Mumbai, waar de bewoners hun graantje proberen mee te pikken nu het India economisch steeds beter gaat. Zo is er Abdul, een tiener die het afval van het luchthaventerrein opkoopt en sorteert om het aan recyclebedrijven te verkopen. Asha, moeder van drie kinderen met een aan alcohol verslaafde man, wil hoofd van de sloppenwijk worden en haar dochter moet als eerste vrouw van Annawadi afstuderen. De stad wordt getroffen door terroristische aanslagen en de recessie slaat toe. De sluimerende spanningen als gevolg van religieuze en kastentegenstellingen, seksuele uitbuiting en economische afgunst ontladen zich op brute wijze. Voor Abdul is het drama compleet als hij het slachtoffer wordt van valse beschuldigingen. Een beter bestaan is het indringende verslag van de harde wereld van de sloppenwijken van Mumbai, waar permanent strijd wordt geleverd om een beter bestaan in de snel globaliserende wereld.

Reportage over het leven in de sloppenwijk Annawadi bij de luchthaven van Mumbai (Bombay).

I skyggen av luksushotellene like ved Mumbais flyplass ligger Annawadi-slummen. Her bor flere tusen mennesker i ekstrem fattigdom.Abdul håper å tjene store penger på sortering av søppel. Ashas store drøm er at datteren skal bli den første i slummen med høyere utdannelse. Kalu stjeler skrapmetall i et forsøk på å kjempe seg opp fra elendigheten. Dette er en dokumentarfortelling om noen av menneskene som lever på bunnen det indiske samfunnet, men som likevel beholder håpet om en lysere fremtid.

Hindistan’da çöplerin arasına sıkışmış yoksul mahalleyi elit tabakadan tek bir tabela ayırıyordu: Sonsuza Dek Güzel... Tabelanın arkasında erken yaşta büyüyen çocuklar... Dövülen, ezilen, ölen çocuklar... Diğer tarafta iştahla tüketen, yoksulların yaşamasını gereksiz bulan toplum... Trajik detaylar zengin bir kilim gibi işlenmiş. Yardıma muhtaç insanların gerçek hikâyeleri, okuyuculara roman detaylarıyla aktarılmış.”

This work of narrative nonfiction tells the dramatic and sometimes heartbreaking story of families striving toward a better life in one of the twenty-first century''s great, unequal cities. In it, based on three years of reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human. The events recounted are real, as are all the names. Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees fortune in the recyclable garbage of richer people. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a rural childhood, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. With a little luck, her sensitive, beautiful daughter, Annawadi''s "most-everything girl," will soon become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to good times they call "the full enjoy." But then Abdul the garbage sorter is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy; terror and a global recession rock the city; and suppressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power and economic envy turn brutal. As the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed. And so, too, are the imaginations and courage of the people of Annawadi.

Traditional Chinese edition of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity. The book is named the best of 2012 by New York Times. It is the 2012 National Book Awards winner in the NONFICTION category. In Traditional Chinese. Annotation copyright Tsai Fong Books, Inc. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.