Khotachiwadi Chronicles by Charlene Flanagan Book Review
• 𝕭𝖔𝖔𝖐 𝕽𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜 •
Charlene Flanagan’s Khotachiwadi Chronicles is a charming and heartfelt portrait of life in 1990s South Bombay, nestled in the crumbling but colourful lanes of the old Catholic enclave of Khotachiwadi. At the heart of this story is the unforgettable Aunty Perpetual Fernandes—a sharp-tongued, opinionated widow who sees herself as the moral compass of her community. Equal parts meddler and matriarch, Perpetual finds herself entangled in a web of secrets when she suspects that something is amiss in the once-revered Rodrigues household.
What unfolds is a quietly dramatic tale, laced with humour, nostalgia, and an unmistakable affection for a disappearing way of life. Flanagan’s prose is light yet evocative, filled with the scents, sounds, and subtle tensions of a neighbourhood where privacy is rare and gossip spreads faster than monsoon rain. The dialogue sparkles with local flavour, and the cast of characters—nosy neighbours, proud families, errant sons—feel instantly familiar.
But beneath the humour lies a deeper reflection on tradition, loss, and the small acts of courage that hold communities together. Flanagan handles these themes with grace, never pushing too hard, letting the setting and characters speak for themselves.
Khotachiwadi Chronicles is not just a nostalgic trip down memory lane—it is a tribute to the resilience of ordinary people, to the humour that softens life’s blows, and to the quiet dignity of fading neighbourhoods. A delightful and tender novel, it lingers like the echo of an old Goan hymn on a warm Sunday morning.
