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Published on February 3, 2008

Reading: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

“This is a huge book written by a Australia guy who escaped from the jail and fled to India, ending up in the slums of Bombay. It’s being made into a film starring Johnny Depp. The novel describes his experiences of working in the slums, and how he ended up working for a godfather in Bombay. It also describes how the justice system operates within the slums. This is very much about the Mafia in Bombay, the culture of why they are doing it. It’s is a fascinating story for me because it dwells on the sinister undertow of Bombay and on the criminality. There’s also a lot of philosophy in the book and plenty of humanity. I love to understand why people commit crimes. I liked it because even though it’s more than 900 pages, it kept me wanting to read. It feels almost like nonfiction. It’s a fabulous book, one of the best I’ve read in years.