Review of Shantaram by Sarah Waters
Shantaram is a novel that really evokes the
true India. The sights and the sounds and the mulitude of cultures and languages that are present. These make up the melting pot that is India and particularly Bombay.
This novel is based on the experiences of Gregory David Roberts the author. From his escape from Pentrich
Prison in Victoria Australia to his escape to Bombay India.
Roberts was sentenced to a 19 years term for armed robbery and while being addicted to heroin. After having being treated so brutally and savagely by the prison guards he escaped in broad daylight in 1980. He had started his term in 1978. This was a maximum security prison. He went briefly to New Zealand and from there he escaped to Bombay India. for a period of 10 years.
When he arrived in India he was met and befriended by a man called Prabaker who became his best friend. Roberts
fell head over heels in
love with Bombay and its peoples.
He was befriended and mentored by Abdel Khader Khan an Afghani Mafia Boss. and worked for him doing conterfeiting, currency exchange and passport forgeries.. He was also sent to Afghanistan to smuggle weapons for the Muyahdeen the freedom fighters.
We also got introduced to characters such as Kara and friends from Leopoldts Cafe. He fell in love with Kara. He also gets involved in Bollywood movies.
When his mentor Abdel Khader Khan is killed when they are in Afghanistan he returns to Bombay depressed and lonely. He becomes disgusted by the way he has turned to crime again and resolves to go on a straighter path and start a new life for himself in Bombay.
This book is basically about friendships, true friendships and finding one's true self and values. My favourite part is right near the begining when he goes and meets Prabaker's family in the Indian countryside.
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