A fantastic read (Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts)

Member Name: Siamese

Product:	Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts
Date:	18/10/09 (18 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keeps you gripped from beginning to end

Disadvantages: None

Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

Gregory David Roberts was sentenced to 19 years in an Australian jail having been convicted of a series of armed robberies, carried out to feed his heroin addiction at the time. He escaped from prison, and travelled to India, becoming one of Australia's most wanted men. The book then follows him though his experiences (including setting up a health clinic In the slums of India, working as a forger and counterfeiter and a gun runner) and introduces us to a weird and wonderful array of people along the way.

It is an unusual story, in that it is fiction, though quite heavily influenced by real life events, which lend a believability to the book. It is also one of those rare pieces of work which make the characters come alive for the reader and the experiences seem almost their own.

Reading this book, I almost felt that I could smell the scents described, see the colours and hear the characters as they spoke. The book managed to strike almost every emotion, at some points I laughed out loud, in others I felt the poignancy and hurt as if the story affected me personally. The characters become like old friends and you cannot help but feel connected to their lives.

This book is 944 pages long and I can honestly say that I wished it were twice the size. I found it hard to put down and read it very quickly, then wished I hadn't because I wanted it to last as long as possible!

If you are looking for something exciting and poignant to read then look no further, Shantaram is sure to delight. There is talk of it being made into a film which would definitely be one to watch.

I think that this is the best book I have read all year, and cannot recommend it highly enough, it genuinely is a fantastic read!

Summary: A must-read book