Okay, okay, gals don’t get upset or jealous!! I am just talking about a book here. I still am very much single and available :). Now, this is the first time I am writing a review of sorts for a book. Earlier I have recommended a couple of books as passing notes in my posts. But this entire post belongs to the book I just finished reading and which still has me under its binding spell.
In today’s fast paced world of short sophisticated stories, succinct narratives and innovative fictions, a 930+ pages epic based on a real life story might sound like a boring proposition. I guess I too would not pick up such a book unless I hoped to use it as a pillow (both literally and figuratively). But I had heard and read so much about this literary masterpiece that I had been itching badly to subject myself to the torture. And glad I am, that I did that to me.
Well, Shantaram is a real life inspired but fictitious account of memoirs of the author – Gregory David Roberts, an Australian fugitive who lands into Mumbai after escaping from a prison back home. Once into Mumbai he just falls in love with this city where he makes many friends, lives in Mumbai slums, deals in drugs, runs a first-aid clinic for the poor slum dwellers, finds a father figure in Mumbai's mafia, finds a few friends who could die for him and vice versa, makes a few enemies who entrap him, has near death experiences in Mumbai jail, joins the Mujahideen war in Afghanistan, becomes an important part of the mafia gang in Mumbai and zillion other things ... and did I say learns Hindi and Marathi?:) Okay, by now you must have at least realized that this book is a roller coaster ride of a plethora of emotions – trust, love, betrayal, respect, friendship, sympathy, blind faith, power, conviction etc etc etc
This one sure is right up there amongst the best prose (cant term is as the best since Bourne Identity is a tough competition :)) I have read. There are loads and loads of sentences and paragraphs in this gem that you would just want to engrave in your memory and quote them somewhere to impress others by its richness of literature and also some interesting philosophical focus. But the highlight of this book is the thoroughly detailed account of the writer’s adventures. Some of them are so comprehensive that you actually begin to feel the surroundings and start experiencing the feelings of the protagonist. For instance, after reading his ordeal at the Arthur Road prison in Mumbai; you will shudder even from the thought of spending a day in that jail. Similarly his depiction of the Mumbai slums and the entire south Mumbai area made me wonder sometimes whether I actually live in Mumbai or not.
This book is a must buy for book lovers, it is a captivating thriller sprinkled merrily with human emotions, interesting philosophy and descriptive writing. Mumbaikars will surely find a connection with this book owing to the scrupulous description of many of the city places with “Café Leopolds” being the prominent of all :).
On the flip side, in my view the book has two snags – firstly, it surely is HUGE, but, once you start this voluminous autobiography it starts growing on you and enchaining you in its grasps. Secondly, it has some open ends during the narration which might be a turn off. But most of them get clarified towards the end. Alas there are a couple of them still which I am wondering about (or did I just missed a few pages while reading the book in almost sleepy state)
Btw Warner Bros have bought the rights for making a film on this book in which Johnny Depp is slated to play the lead role while Amitabh Bachhan is slated to play the mafia head who becomes a father figure to the protagonist.
Lin Baba ki Jai Ho!!! :)
Ciao friends, tc,
hiren
p.s. the title of the post is the literal disintegration of the word “Shant - aaram” just in case you are still intrigued :)
p.p.s. now I have my eyes on another femme fatale and this one is not a book :)
