The Bellboy

Latif's life changes when he is appointed bellboy at the Paradise Lodge - a hotel where people come to die.After his father's death drowned in the waters surrounding their small Island it is 17 year-old Latif's turn to become the man of the house and provide for his ailing mother and sisters. Despite discovering a dead body on his first day of duty Latif finds entertainment spying on guests and regaling the hotel's janitor Stella with made-up stories. However when Latif finds the corpse of a small-time actor in Room 555 and becomes a mute-witness to a crime that happens there the course of Latif's life is irretrievably altered.The Bellboy is as much a commentary on how society treats and victimizes the intellectually vulnerable as it is about the quiet resentment brewing against religious minorities in India today. With a mix of wry humour and heart-wrenching poignancy the book narrates a young boy's coming-of-age on a small island and his innocence that persists even in the face of adversity and inevitable tragedy.