Shantaram - A Masterpiece

All thanks to my state of absolute joblessness, I have been reading a lot lately. No college, no exams, no labs, so it's a kind of guilt-free read. Few days back I was reminded that my blog still exists which is waiting to be updated since long. Erm...yeah, I'm way too lazy. Now the only way to keep this place rolling is to keep adding what I'm doing the most these days, that being reading. Cutting all the crap... *drumrolls* Book Review, it is! :D

Starting with one of the awesomest books I have read lately, which I have seen/heard on almost every bookshelf waiting either to be started or to be finished, blame it all on those 944 odd pages.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Even I had started the read with great reluctance, but as I went through the first few pages of the book I knew I'm not keeping this one down, no matter what! If one is looking for some quick filmy entertainment or a couple of hours kinda loose read, Shantaram is definitely a no-no. However if one wants to experience living through a book, plunging into love, life, philosophy, reality and encounter all the endless emotions of love, hatred, respect, camaraderie, envy, right in one's face, then Shantaram is an excellent choice.

Shantaram is the story of an escaped convict who manages to flee from a high security prison in Australia and through fraud and forgery ends up in Bombay, the city he eventually falls in love with. He arrives in Bombay as Mr. Lindsay, becomes Lin for all his friends and foes, modifies to Linbaba owing to his Marathi-speaking-firangi-doctor status among the slum dwellers and transforms into Shantaram in the small Maharashtrian village where people urge him to have a name similar to theirs. Wandering in the streets of Bombay, he comes across crooks, cops, prostitutes, mafias, beggars, actors, junkies, exiles from several other countries; each encounter giving Lin something to remember, something to learn, as he moves on escaping the law and his past.

Bombay through Lin’s eyes is as beautiful as it can be. As one turns the pages, the feeling of being there in the description increases even more. Roaming around the streets of Bombay at night, having endless conversations at Leopold Café, sitting on the beach retrospecting, seeing the waves crash on the walls of Haji Ali, living in the slum with a fear of demolition and rain everyday, unfolding the links of underworld, fighting each day for your survival; and all this while discovering your soul. The effect is just mesmerizing, making the readers see Bombay from a new dimension!

Our protagonist, Lin, is no hero; he is just a normal human who is suffering from Life.
He is involved in drug peddling, passport forgery, black marketing, smuggling and several other crimes. He yearns to be loved. He succumbs to the pressures of life. He makes true friends. He makes enemies. He talks. He listens. He ponders. He battles against his own luck. He succeeds. He thinks. He falls in love. He sees deception. He faces rejection. He finds a father’s guidance and pride. He finds a mother’s unconditional love. He finds a brother ready to die for his safety. He goes for a war. He loses. He fails. He cries. He laughs. He learns. He fights. He lives.
He savors each tide of life in his own stride.

Apart from Lin, all the other characters of the book also bring forth Life, as never seen; and its trivialities, as never thought.

Karla’s observations on life and love are witty and absolutely captivating. The more you read of her, the more you crave for. Few of my favorites of Karla-isms being,

"People always hurt us with their trust. The surest way to hurt someone you like, is to put all your trust in him."

"I don’t know what frightens me more, the power that crushes us or our endless ability to endure it."

"The truth is a bully we all pretend to like."

“Luck is what happens to you when fate gets tired of waiting”

Didier’s remarks make you laugh, think, wonder or even ignore. Inspite of being in a drunk state, he proves to be a true friend and almost a philosopher.

"The worst thing about corruption as a system of governance is that it works so well."

"I think wisdom is over-rated. Wisdom is just cleverness with all the guts kicked out of it. I’d rather be clever than wise, any day."

Abdul Khader who becomes a father-like figure for Lin, his friend, guide and philosopher, known for his wisdom and courage also has some great insights to offer on the purpose of life, each of which is worth a thought,

"Every virtuous act has some dark secret in its heart and every risk that we take contains a mystery that can’t be solved."

"The sane man is simply a better liar than the insane man."

Prabaker, Lin's guide and first friend in Bombay strikes a chord with the reader almost instantly. His innocence and devotion is too beautiful to be true.
Abdullah, Nazeer, Kishan, Anand, Johnny Cigar, Qasim, Ghani, they all have so much food to offer for one's thought. Their search for love, freedom, contentment and peace, and how life unfolds, is all worth a read.

Few of my other favourites from the narration of the book :

'Sometimes the lion must roar, just to remind the horse of his fear.'

'Civilization, after all, is defined by what we forbid, more than what we permit.'

'A politician is someone who promises you a bridge, even when there’s no river.'

Okay, guess I should quit, coz I can keep adding to this list endlessly, like, really! Loved the book. Would recommend this piece of art to everyone! There is so much to imbibe.

The last 100 pages less and it might have just become the most perfect of all books for me. An absolutely gripping story, nonetheless. One might not like it in the same way as I did, for what I feel Shantaram would have different levels of effect on people with different perspectives and under different circumstances. But what I can assure you is that the book won't disappoint you, at all!