I mostly really enjoyed this book, following the lives of three gay men in India from the 1970s up to now, maybe a little bit further in the future. Through the three men, we see the shifting attitudes towards queer men in India, from laws imposed by colonial rulers and leftover and ingrained, through to the initial repeal of Section 377, its reinstatement, renewed repeal, and today, when Vivaan is able to live *somewhat* freely and out, though there’s still plenty of stigma outside of his family. 

I found Vivaan’s sections jarring in tone. He’s 17 and living in current times, maybe a bit ahead, but his voice notes are read like they’re written by someone who’s maybe never heard a 17 year old talk before. This was especially annoying because content wise, I found Vivaan’s chapters to be the most compelling. So it was a struggle between style and content there. 

I preferred the storytelling style of Mambro’s sections (Vivaan’s uncle) and Sukumar’s, although some of his (Vivaan’s great uncle, we love a queer family), weren’t as compelling as Mambro’s (not his real name, Vivaan’s nickname for him). We’re with Mambro when the law deeming homosexuality illegal is repealed for the first time, when gay men feel safe enough to put their faces to their hook-up app profiles for the first time, when you can get an STD test without fear of being arrested. It’s beautifully written, and then the later section when the law is put back into place 4 years later is just as heart achingly written.

Overall it’s a solid book, moving, but just some stylistic choices that didn’t work for me.