Skip to main content

Book Review: The Education of Yuri by Jerry Pinto

Namrata reviews Jerry Pinto’s latest book, The Education of Yuri (Speaking Tiger, 2022) emphasizing how everything about this book spells classic. 




 “We are born alone, and we die alone. In between, we reach out to other people.”  

 From the book blurb 


Jerry Pinto’s latest work of fiction, The Education of Yuri (Speaking Tiger, 2022) is a tender portrayal of a young boy growing up in Bombay in the 1980s. Jerry Pinto is one of India’s finest writers with award-winning works to his credit across genres ranging from translation, poetry, memoirs, and fiction. Time and again, he has proved that he is a writer par excellence. In his writings, he is known to capture Mumbai and its nuances with an unmatched exactness. This is exactly what he does with The Education of Yuri too. Mumbai (then- Bombay) is the heart of this story which takes you through some of the early days of Yuri, as he grows up in the 80s. 

Pinto tells us his story with a certain profundity while still keeping it tender and funny. In many ways, The Education of Yuri is a coming-of-age story revolving around friendship, relationships, sexuality, and politics. The cherry on top of this book has to be the amazing poets Pinto introduces us to. Some known, some unknown, some known yet forgotten – the list of the poets he helps us rediscover through Yuri is long and intense. The protagonist Yuri has an awakening through these poems. He finds himself in those verses and the works of the various poets as he grapples through adulthood trying to find an answer to the eternal question – Who am I? 

 After Manto, if there is a writer who can capture the multifaceted Mumbai in his writings so accurately, it has to be Jerry Pinto. And yet, each of his works seems to talk about a different aspect of Mumbai. It doesn’t look like he is talking about the same city. Like in this book, he talks about growing up in Mahim and then attending a college in South Mumbai. The difference between these two areas of Mumbai is substantial. They are two different worlds and if one was to cross over to the other, it would seem like a huge shock to them.

Read the full review on Kitaab

Popular posts from this blog

Movie Review: If by Tathagata Ghosh – A Tender Portrait of Love, Loss, and Possibility

If , a 26-minute short film by acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Tathagata Ghosh, is a sensitive, evocative piece of storytelling that lingers long after the credits roll. Set against the everyday rhythm of life in Kolkata, the film delicately unpacks the story of a lesbian couple torn apart by the weight of societal expectations and dares to imagine a different future, one where a mother's love might just change everything.  What struck me first was the film’s raw, grounded realism. The characters feel like people we know, middle-class families navigating a complex world with quiet resilience. The world of If is filled with silences, glances, and stills, rather than heavy dialogue. Ghosh masterfully uses these moments to speak volumes, allowing viewers to sit with discomfort, interpret the unspoken, and feel deeply.

Book Review: The Story of Eve: Selected Poems by Zehra Nigah

Few voices in Urdu poetry have carried the weight of history, resistance, and deep personal introspection quite like Zehra Nigah. One of the first women to break into the traditionally male-dominated world of Urdu poetry, Nigah’s work stands as a testament to the power of words to illuminate, question, and challenge. The Story of Eve: Selected Poems, translated by Rakshanda Jalil, brings together some of her most powerful nazms and ghazals, showcasing both her literary elegance and her unflinching gaze at the human condition, particularly through the lens of gender, social injustice, and political turmoil.

Book Review: Butterflies of Success by Ranga Iyer

ISBN: ‎ 978-8196920951 Genre: Personal Transformation Publisher: Highbrow Scribes Year of Publishing: 2024 About the Book "Poverty is relative term" Lack of money alone cannot stop someone from succeeding in life. The social evil of poverty can be defeated with a determined mind, courage, mental strength, and education. Butterflies of Success follows the compelling journey of Mukta and Prem, a couple with four daughters who leave their village in search of a better life in Thakurli, near Bombay. Facing numerous challenges, including living in a small, unsanitary dwelling, financial struggles, and health issues, Mukta leads her family of six in a fight to improve their situation. She starts by selling boiled chickpeas and gradually expands to open a diner and a tailoring unit with Prem's help. As the business progresses, the family strives to educate and marry off their daughters, which brings new challenges, including mounting debts. Not oblivious to her parents' da...