If cities had moods, Mumbai would be permanently set to chaotic fabulousness—and Lightning in a Shot Glass bottles that mood, spikes it with wicked humour, and hands it to you with a wink. Deepanjana Pal’s novel is a riotous, heartfelt celebration of women who refuse to behave, dreams that refuse to die, and friendships that refuse to let you spiral alone. It’s the literary equivalent of your quirkiest girlfriend showing up with cold coffee, gossip and unsolicited wisdom: sharp, funny, emotionally loaded, and impossible to put down.
Two Women, One City, Infinite Trouble
At the heart of the book are Meera and Aalo—flatmates who crash through life not with grace, but with gusto.
Meera, a 40-year-old journalist, believes she’s knee-deep in a midlife crisis, but honestly, she’s just having more fun than she’s willing to admit. Her “What am I doing?” moment arrives on a Kandivali train, en route to meet a colleague who is basically a child in millennial years.
Aalo, 29, bounces between heartbreak and haphazard ambition while sliding into the DMs of a beautiful, far-away war photographer. Her romantic philosophy?
“Anyone not right of centre is good enough.”
Her results? Chaos, obviously.
Their bad decisions, narrated with Pal’s signature wit, are half the joy of this book.
Banter So Good, You Want to Highlight Every Line
The dialogue crackles with the precision of stand-up comedy. When Meera laments the cultural decline from post-coital cigarette to post-coital noodle, Aalo deadpans:
“I feel you’re focusing on the wrong detail.”
It’s this blend of sass, self-awareness, and sisterly exasperation that makes the novel so sharply addictive.
Romance, Politics, Parents & Other Natural Disasters
Love in Mumbai is never simple, and for Meera and Aalo, it arrives in messy, inconvenient, unpredictable packages.
Just as their “casual” entanglements begin to take emotional root, they must navigate the other minefields of adulthood:
- office politics that could give Greek tragedies a complex
- parents who are affectionate, well-meaning, and wildly xenophobic
- ambitions that refuse to sit quietly
- insecurities that refuse to stay hidden
Through all of this, their unshakeable circle of girlfriends becomes their oxygen mask.
A City That Almost Steals the Show
Mumbai is not a backdrop here—it’s a living, breathing accomplice.
It pushes them, protects them, exhausts them, and emboldens them.
Just like the women in this novel, the city is loud, impatient, tender, unpredictable, and absolutely unforgettable.
A Rom-Com with a Brain, a Spine, and a Sense of Mischief
Deepanjana Pal delivers a story that is witty and breezy without being hollow. She builds women who are flawed but fearless, messy but magnificent, confused but determined to keep going.
The novel laughs in the face of perfection and embraces the beautiful chaos of female friendship, grown-up desire, second chances and urban loneliness.
No wonder Samit Basu, Aditi Mittal, Mahesh Rao and Diksha Basu have all called it smart, layered, heartfelt and hilarious.
HarperCollins’ Dharini Bhaskar even calls it “India’s answer to Bridget Jones’s Diary.”
She’s not wrong—it’s that much fun.
Read It, Gift It, Quote It
Lightning in a Shot Glass is a warm, witty, whip-smart ode to women who stumble, swear, strategise, cry, flirt, fail, and rise again—with Mumbai as their witness and their girlfriends as their safety net.
It’s the kind of novel you finish with a grin on your face and a sudden urge to call your favourite women.
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