After the partys over

This is a particular odd time for a book that is set after the global meltdown and features decadent youth who one would imagine no longer have the money to live lavishly. Riya,one of the protagonists,finds herself back in India after the crash on Wall Street minus her savings or a job.

After whiling away days in her bureaucrat dads government bungalow,she meets Serena at a gym. Then follows a whirlwind of parties with her glamorous new peroxide blonde friend,and a predictable narrative of torrid affairs and roller-coaster relationships. There are a few stirring moments when Riya comprehends the brutality of passion through her friends experience,and Serenas volatile life is nicely highlighted,but hardly enough to make the book memorable.

Clichéd phrases such as hard and piercing eyes dont endear the reader. Its with a sense of relief that you reach the third protagonist: Serenas mother,Parmeet,who lives dangerously in Chandigarh,flits between young lovers and a murderously jealous husband. A portrait of the unhappy rich usually makes for easy voyeuristic reading,but,even in India theres enough of it going around. Serial adultery,coke and debauchery dont cut it anymore.