A state of freedom by Neel Mukherjee

What happens when one attempts to exchange the life one is given for something better? Can we transform the possibilities we are born into?--Set in contemporary India and moving between the reality of this world and the shadow of another, this novel of multiple narratives--formally daring, fierce, but full of pity--delivers a devastating and haunting exploration of the unquenchable human urge to strive for a different life.

What happens when one attempts to exchange the life one is given for something better? Five characters in very different circumstances-- from a domestic cook in Mumbai, to a vagrant and his dancing bear, to a girl who escapes terror in her home village for a new life in the city-- find out the meanings of dislocation and the desire for more.

I received a galley of this book to read and review courtesy of W.W. Norton via NetGalley. This has not influenced my thoughts or opinions about this book.

I went into this book thinking it was a novel, only to realize it's a collection of short stories. It's a fascinating look at the lengths ordinary people will go to eke more out of their lives, but I found the prose challenging and inaccessible at times. The third short story – also the longest – details a long, troubling story involving animal abuse. I could have read an entire book about the fourth short story, about Milly's life and her experiences as a servant.

All in all, it's a good book but perhaps not the most accessible except the most discerning of readers. It strikes me as a book that literary types or those who teach classes on English composition will love.

A mix of stories, sometimes touching each other. I enjoyed a few - Milly and the fox faced bear man. Others were ok. I really didn't like the punctuation-less flow of the left story - though I understood the fast, punctuation free flow indicating the uncontrollable flow of thoughts the story indicated.
Overall the book was a mixed bag.