I just finished Londonstani, the first novel by Gautam Malkani. It takes place in London as you can tell from the title and is the story of 4 rudeboys. They are part of London's Asian community and refer to themselves as desis which the glossary in the book describes as "self-referential term for the Indian disapora that refers to people and culture." The four rudeboys, one of them is more an aspiring rudeboy than actual rudeboy join with Sanjay, an entrepreneur and former student of their college in a business deal that has tragic consequences. It also serves the vehicle to reveal the final twist that concerns the identify of one of the rudeboys.
The book is written in the jargon of the rudeboys and required much flipping back and forth between the pages of the novel and the glossary. I would have been totally lost without the glossary and found the book slow-going at first because of the constant flipping. As I got further into the novel, I picked up both the terms and the rhythm of Malkani's writing.
This is not a book for people who are offended by profane language.
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