Description: A tale of vice and passion set against a backdrop of late 1970's Bombay finds a New Yorker becoming entranced with the underworld culture of an opium den and brothel where he encounters a pipe-making eunuch, a violent businessman, and a Chinese refugee.
Review Quotes: "A brilliant first novel . . . Nothing like this exists in Indian literature." -- The Sunday Guardian (London)
"In ambition, Narcopolis is reminiscent of Roberto Bolano; but it is Denis Johnson's Jesus' Son--the best junkie book of the last quarter century--that is its closer kin. Thankfully, Thayil creates something original and vital from those blueprints. One yearns for the next hit." -- The Telegraph (U.K.) "A reformed addict, Mr. Thayil has had personal experience with the world he describes. But he is also a published poet, who wields his words with care. His efforts are there to be seen." -- The Economist "Thayil's precision and economy distill what could be a sprawling and uneven saga into an elegant tapestry of beautifully observed characters and their complex lives." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)