#Review: Lightening in a Shot Glass by Deepanjana Pal

Lightning in a Shot Glass sets out to be funny, romantic, and politically alert—and largely pulls it off with confidence and charm. Centred on Mumbai flatmates Meera and Aalo, the novel explores desire at two very different life stages: Meera, a forty-year-old journalist flirting with impulsive decisions and self-doubt, and Aalo, younger, ideologically alert, and emotionally adrift. Their romantic entanglements begin lightly but soon demand reckoning, much like real relationships that refuse to stay “casual.”

Pal’s writing is sharp, conversational, and quietly witty. The humour doesn’t perform; it slips into dialogue, office politics, family interactions, and the everyday absurdities of city life. Mumbai isn’t just a backdrop—it’s an active force, shaping ambition, intimacy, and exhaustion in equal measure.

Where the novel occasionally stumbles is in its ambition. It juggles romance, friendship, media ethics, xenophobia, and political disillusionment, and at times the pacing slows under the weight of its themes. Yet this excess comes from generosity rather than confusion.
The characters, especially Meera, are flawed, observant, and emotionally credible. What truly distinguishes the book is its insistence that romance is never apolitical. Desire, belief systems, and personal compromises are quietly, cleverly intertwined.

Not a tidy rom-com, but a vibrant, grown-up story with bite—and a lingering aftertaste worth savouring.

Find this book here.