Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts series

“Shantaram” book series is written by Gregory David Roberts and consists of two books (“Shantaram” and “The Mountain Shadow”). The story-line of the book series was influenced by the author’s personal experience. Although, some parts of the novel are definitely based on Roberts' known biography, while the rest are impossible to verify. So, it’s difficult to define where the boundaries between fact and fiction in the book lie.

Both books are narrated by Lin, an escaped convict from security prison in Australia, who gets a false passport and disappears in the streets of some city in Mumbai. Now his aim is to find love and meaning of his life.

The search takes him 10 years and leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. In one district of the city he meets a German woman, Karla, and falls in love with her. Then, one day getting mugged and landing up in a slum, he sets up a free health clinic for the poor. His life seems to be set up but he has to battle through mafia, human trafficking, cholera, poverty. Karla becomes uninspiring and their relationship is fickle and at best forgettable.
Following this life-story and seeing people in Mumbai, you may have negative judgement of humankind especially after reading such revolting episodes as Robert’s arresting by police or when he is tortured which are emotionally rousing moments of the book. Roberts doesn’t labor over India’s myriad problems in the novel, but he isn’t afraid to point them out either. Although, it may prove to be an eye-opening read for foreigners, it is quite commonplace for India’s neighboring nations, like Pakistan, which shares most of the problems. At the same time, the book does make you raise eyebrows more than once as our main character sometimes seems like a superhero – living in the Mumbai slums.

“Shantaram” is one of those rare books, which can provide you with meditative experience and make you rethink life from an entirely different perspective.