SHANTARAM

Every once in a while, a book comes along which is so perfect in every aspect that it makes you want to read it. Which makes you flinch at the thought that you have almost completed it and there is no more of it to read.

"Shataram" is exactly this kind of book.

Written by Gregory David Roberts, it's a (true?) story which begins with his escape from an Australian prison which prompts his arrival in India. After his arrival, he stays in a Mumbai slum, runs a free medical clinic there, falls in love, works for the mafia, gets beaten up in a Mumbai prison, runs illegal passport and black market currency operations, works in a few Bollywood movies and fights by the side of the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan.

Phew!

For someone who has had so many tumultous events in his life, he has kept a surprisingly detailed account of his life.

All the characters are very well defined and more often than not, you find yourself floating along with the story to all the different places that "Lin", the central character (the author himself), takes you with him.

I wanted to post this here for a while now, but wanted to finish the book before I did.

I usually take very little time to read books, even if they are giant 1000 pagers. But this one, I was savouring every single page. So I took it slow and enjoyed it a bit more.

I personally loved the book. And I very strongly recommend that you pick it up. It is a bit big and intimidating when you see it, but once you start reading, you cannot get enough of it.

Trust me. Pick it up.