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Title details for The Blue Notebook by James A. Levine - Available

The Blue Notebook

A Novel

by James A. Levine
Meera Simhan
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Dear [Listener],
Every now and then, we come across a novel that moves us like no other, that seems like a miracle of the imagination, and that haunts us long after the book is closed. James Levine’s The Blue Notebook is that kind of book. It is the story of Batuk, an Indian girl who is taken to Mumbai from the countryside and sold into prostitution by her father; the blue notebook is her diary, in which she recalls her early childhood, records her life on the Common Street, and makes up beautiful and fantastic tales.
How did Levine, a British-born doctor at the Mayo Clinic, manage to conjure the voice of a fifteen-year-old female Indian prostitute? It all began, he told me, when, as part of his medical research, he was interviewing homeless children on a street in Mumbai known as the Street of Cages, where child prostitutes work. The powerful image of a young prostitute engaged in the act of writing haunted him, and he himself began to write.
The Blue Notebook brings us into the life of a young woman for whom stories are not just entertainment but a means of survival. Dr. Levine is donating all his U.S. proceeds from this book to help exploited children. Batuk’s story can make a difference.
Sincerely,
Celina Spiegel
Publisher

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 7, 2009

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781415963159
      • File size: 211654 KB
      • Duration: 07:20:56

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Meera Simhan's musical Indian-accented voice may at first seem incongruous when you begin to realize the subject of Levine's novel--the selling of a 9-year-old girl into prostitution by her father. Yet despite the unvarnished horrors that young Batuk experiences in Mumbai, Simhan's melodic voice reflects Levine's greatest ambition: to demonstrate human resilience even in the face of barbarities perpetrated against the most vulnerable souls. The beauty of Simhan's narration serves one other purpose. It contrasts chillingly with the few occasions when she suddenly deadens her delivery, suggesting the disassociation Batuk must summon to survive the atrocities she experiences. Simhan renders those moments almost unbearable. M.O. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      July 6, 2009
      Levine, a doctor at the Mayo clinic, was inspired to write this heartbreaking and terrifying novel when he was interviewing homeless children in Mumbai as part of his medical research. In the "Street of Cages" where child prostitutes ply their trade, literally encaged by their neglectful and abusive overseers (who pocket all the profits), Levine was struck by the sight of a young girl sitting outside her cage writing in a notebook. Batuk is a 15 year old girl who was sold to Mamaki Briila by her father when she was 9. Forced to service up to ten men a day from her "nest," and subject to deplorable treatment by the men who pay for her services, she's even abused by the doctor who examines her; her friend Puneet, meanwhile, nearly dies after being sexually assaulted by two policemen and is castrated at the first signs of puberty. Batuk tells her story matter-of-factly, in a voice reminiscent of The Color Purple's. While painful to read, Batuk's story puts a face on the mistreatment and disregard for children worldwide, as well as a testament to the hopefulness and power of literacy. All U.S. proceeds from the book will be donated to helping exploited children.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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