Eating Fire and Drinking Water by Arlene J Chai

Eating Fire and Drinking Water

Arlene J Chai

I found the cover rather off-putting and the blurb misleading, it suggested a lyrical fable. In fact this book is rooted in a real world that includes stinking rubbish heaps, political corruption and betrayal.

Extract
I only have to close my eyes to return to the beginning of it all, to the precise moment when I ceased to be just a reporter of events, becoming instead a part of them.
To say that I am someone who went looking for a story only to find myself caught in one would not be too far from the truth.
On the Monday morning that Calle de Leon went up in flames, I was sent by my paper to gather facts, which I did without wasting time. I found what I needed then left to file my report.
Had this been just another day I would have forgotten the fire and its victim as quickly as the compositors set my story back at the Chronicle. But there was to be no walking away, no forgetting that day.


Parallels
  • Love and Longing in Bombay by Vikram Chandra
  • Morality Play by Barry Unsworth
  • Blindfold by Kevin Anderson