Boo -100

Once again, Boo does a great job with telling the story of the slum dwellers as if she was actually inside their heads. However, I would think it could possibly be beneficial to Boo and her readers if she incorporated some other characters in her piece. There's a stunning lack of accounts of young girls, with the exception of Manju who seems to be playing the role of a young housewife rather than a college student, and also a lack of depth with older men. From what I have read it seems as if the older men in Annawadi do nothing but get drunk and injured while it's the women who do all the work. Though this may not be too far from the truth it's a bit tough to get a complete, rounded out view of the slum. Though adding more characters may not allow for the intimacy we currently have with Abdul's family and friends, and Asha and Manju, I think it would offer a much better perspective to life in a slum. I can understand that maybe with the men going to work for most of the day, that they might not contribute much to the culture of Annawadi since they only ever seem to be home at night or when injured, but I think that it is important to understand how families are supported. Maybe I'm being close-minded since it seems that the kids and wives make all the income for the families, but then where are the men? Even so I think Boo continues to do a fantastic job overall with her story of Annawadi.