Shantaram: A Novel

I first heard of Shantaram:the novel when i read a news article that johny depp was going to star in a movie based on this novel.It immediately piqued my curiosity and i checked out the reviews on amazon.The reviews seemed pretty good.The fact that the novel is based out of India made me even more curios and I decided to buy it.
I have to say the novel lived up to its reputation.Shantaram is the story of an Australian doctor who is jailed for heroin addiction.He escapes from prison,comes to Bombay,starts a clinic in the slums,gets involved in the Bombay underworld and bollywood,fights a war in afghanistan,falls in love and meets lots of interesting characters in the process.

Outside of all the twists and turns in the plot, Shantaram is the story of a guy who discovers what urban life in india is all about and in the process rediscovers himself.The author tries to understand the psyche of an average indian and attempts to explain why indians do stuff the way they do and does a reasonably good job of it.

pros: The novel is very personal. The author analyzes his characters brilliantly and in a very intelligent manner. Another major plus in this novel is the way the author describes every setting and place he is in. The plot is very good.The fact that it is autobiographical makes it all the more interesting.There are some really good philosophical discussions.The vocabulary used in philosophical discussions is simple which makes reading those sections even more enjoyable.

cons:The author is verbose at times. The novel makes life in the slums of bombay look a bit too positive.The language is poetical and even though there are some memorable lines in the book,the author goes overboard with emotions at times.At many places I got the feeling that there was a pragraph or two extra .

Overall a very very good novel.But I would not rate it as a great novel.Shantaram had the potential to be a great novel, but it aint.I feel that if the author had been a little bit more crisp at places I think this novel would have been a great one.

rating:3.0/4.0..