Living with 'Shantaram'

Nope, I'm not talking about any scandalous affairs or revealing the skeletons in my closet. But I am, however, admitting that reading 'Shantaram' by Gregory David Roberts, was like living, journeying and learning with the man himself.

'Lin', as Roberts calls himself in the book (and in the real life of his past), takes you on a tumultuous joy-ride through the prison of Australia, the slums of Mumbai, the languorous beaches of Goa and the frost-bitten caves of Afghanistan with such lucidity, that you get emotionally attached to him, his life and his people. You despise his enemies, you love his friends. You empathize his failures, you rejoice in his victories. You run with him during war and you hold his hand when he fights his tears.

So much so, you cry with him in death, despair, loss and suffering.

Such is the power of this wonderful autobiography!

Like most things that are near perfection, there are a few eerie shades to this book. The gory, detailed descriptions of bloodshed, the author's constant tussle with his conscience and lastly, the reader's; in this case, my own guilt of enjoying a former drug addict and armed robber's story.

Nevertheless, Shantaram is a jewel of a book and definite requirement for your book collection.

Visit his not-so-updated website for more honest confessions from Roberts. Trust me, you will find something to write home about. :)