SHANTARAM - Gregory David Roberts

"Brilliant"... is what one can describe SHANTARAM in one word. This book, written by GREGORY DAVID ROBERTS is a 933 page roller coaster ride which keeps you hooked on till the end and makes you feel that all the time spent on reading this book was very much worth it.

This is a fictional story based on the facts that happened in the authour's life !!. It talks about the experiences of an Australian criminal, who escapes from the prison, runs to India and stays there for about 8 years. Its mainly set in Mumbai and details the varied experiences of the protagonist in a very interesting way. What sets the book apart are the characters that come accross in the story. Each one of them is interesting in their own way and there is a great amount of detailing for everyone of them which makse you visualize the characters while reading the book. Some of them are hilarious with their actions or due to their statements. Though I can easily remember 30-40 characters , the ones that I loved were Didier, Prabhaker and Vikram.

The book gives an insight into the dark side of Mumbai and also goes to the extent of describing how it all works. With the protagonoist putting his hand in every possibel dirty job in Mumbai, the reader gets to know author's version of how it all happens in Mumbai.The information ranges through slums, drugs, mumbai prison, brothels, medicine racket, smuggling, forgery,foreigners working in India and so on...On the positive side, the authors details out the fine and simple things about Indians which makes India so much special and different from rest of the countries. Good to know such minute observations which we dont make , probably because we experience is everyday...

The only problem which I had in this book is the amount of detailing that goes into each and every person, place and object. Sometimes, you get tired of it. But, thats upto the individual reader. I felt that this habit of the author increased the book size by a good 100 pages :) :)

  

There are innumerable instances in the book which make u feel good while reading it. It would be difficult to list them out here. The best way to know it is to read the book itself. Numerous instances are thrown at you in an interesting way , but unconnected to each other. Slowly towards the end, all the open links are interconnected to make it a thrilling stroy and the revelation at the last scene in the book just makes u smile and think.."What a story!!!"...

In short, Shantaram = ram gopal varma + Danny Boyle +ashutosh gowariker :) :)