SuitabookOutlaw in India
Philip Roy
- Reading
- Check in after the dangerous encounter, then pause at the moments involving unequal treatment. Invite the reader to distinguish what Alfred sees from what the story asks us to think about it.
- Themes
- Social inequality and dignity: Alfred befriends a boy described as one of India's 'untouchables' and witnesses practices that deny equality and dignity. The described framing presents these practices as denying human dignity, rather than endorsing them.
- India through a traveller's perspective: Alfred encounters beauty, wealth, tradition and danger, and is taken on an overland journey to Varanasi. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The plot includes a near-fatal encounter with the navy, danger on the journey, homelessness and practices that deny people equality and dignity; these may prompt questions or concern.