Recommend: Yes.
A sprawling epic of 900 pages that is based, incredibly, on a true story of a criminal escaping an Australian jail and ending up in Bombay.
I knew nothing about this book going in other than it was a strong recommendation from a person I know through work. I would have never picked it up for myself, due to its ‘true story’ categorisation and for fear of its hefty girth. That makes it perfect as a recommendation. Without the nudge from someone I trust it would have slipped by the wayside.
Having finally completed the book over a duration of six months, I second this as a recommendation.
The story is outrageous. The pacing is close to perfection – a feat for a book of this length. The writing style can get a little purple prose in places but it would only be for a page or two every hundred pages. There are some pretty funny sections too. A real success of a book.
It’s very much a book that can be read for a few chapters and put down again. There’s so much to get out of it at every point.
I finished it while travelling in South East Asia. As stressful as that can be, Shantaram did serve as a helpful reminder that at least I am not being subjected to the chaos of India.
[Brevity of review due to holiday in SEA]
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