As you probably know, I love reading! I was delighted when I was given "Shantaram" as a Christmas present. It's a thick book, with a nice cover and it looks really promising.
It's the real story of Gregory David Roberts, an ordinary Australian man who ended up in a New Zealand prison in 1981, after getting in trouble in Australia. His addiction to heroin led him to commit armed robberies after his wife broke up with him and left with their baby daughter.
An intelligent and determined man, he escaped from prison several times and fled to India, where he arrived in 1982. The book starts at this point.
Set in the poor and dusty streets of Bombay, the story then takes us to other exotic locations, following the adventures of Gregory David Roberts. It is a spy novel, a detective story, a love story and a documentary at the same time. The author meets Prabaker, a young Indian man who will become his best friend and guide through Bombay, the beautiful yet mysterious Karla, the international crowd at Leopold's, powerful and dangerous men who will accept him as one of their own, Indian mafia dons, a bloodthirsty serial killer, an invisible Asian pimp and guerrilla soldiers in Afghanistan.
From hotels to slum, from Karla's bed to a heroin den, from the snowy mountains to a nightmare jail, Roberts goes through so many incredible adventures he seems to be living 1000 lives simultaneously: drug addict, lover, doctor, killer, soldier, benefactor...
The movie is supposed to be out soon, I can't wait! I really hope I won't be disappointed, as it's often the case with adaptations of books to films. In the meantime, if you're looking for a tremendous read, run to your favourite bookshop to get Shantaram, you won't regret it!
Cynthia
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