Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram reads like poetry.

I think the most beautiful part of this book has to be its language. Its the part that touched me the most, and its the part that makes reading this (admittedly huge) book a real pleasure. There are certain lines in this book, like, "If fate doesnt make you laugh, you didn't get the joke," that touch a chord. Others, like the discussions on suffering or the general philosophy that the author manages to incorporate in mind-bogglingly horrible situations, is harder to portray but makes you re-think your life in a way that even self-help books (or perhaps especially such books) rarely do. The book is written gorgeously, especially if long descriptions and conversations do not end up boring you, though if you are not a fan of philosophy or if non-linear storylines confuse you, this book might not be the book for you. 

But there's a lot more to recommend in this epic book. The first would be the characters. The main character, Lin, is compelling - an active, flawed, very beautifully written character who is actually the reason this book works at all. But its not just him. Every character, from characters in the slums of mumbai to don s to criminals are not only believable but also likeable. It seems hard to imagine from inside air-conditioned rooms that one could ever find something in common with people living in the dredges of poverty in the city that boasts of having the largest slum in the world, but the glory of this book is that you do. The author seems to really understand what makes people tick, and has the additional gift of being able to put that into written words. My favorite set of characters was undoubtedly the "Leopold crowd" - Karla, Didier, Kavita, Vikram, Ulla, Modena and the others, but I'm pretty sure I can understand that others would have other favorites - each character is just so remarkably etched. 

Another wonderful thing about this book is the setting. There is just no question. The author understands the very core of India and portrays it a lot, lot better than I've ever seen any other author do, with the possible exception of Vikram Seth (read the review). Roberts concludes that what drives India is love, a beautiful sentiment that he proves again and again through various examples throughout the book. He doesn't gloss over the bad parts on India, he in fact is not shy at all about pointing out that India has flaws. But he does it like a child knowing the flaws of his parents, and the love for India that shines through each and every page makes you even more open to the criticisms. Something many contemporary Indian writers might take note of. 

And finally the plot. There's not much to say...just read the back-cover, which talks about being a slum doctor, a gangster, going to jail, fighting with mujahideens in Afghanistan, and still managing to work in a bollywood film, and tell me if you dont find it interesting. If you really dont, probably not the book for you. 

Final thoughts: An epic, epic book. I would recommend everyone to read it at least once. But I fear that once might just not be enough. 

Other thoughts: I must admit, its been a while. It was just a combination of the fact that the book took me a while to read and then exams came in the middle. Expect more reviews in the future. 

The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer

The Prodigal Daughter is my favourite Archer book.

It is odd that of all the books I'm reading right now (I'm currently reading 4 at once, which explains the lack of book reviews here - and which also means I'm probably going to finish them all together and have a lot of reviews by the end of the month) the one I finished first was the one I'd already read. (I read it an awfully long time ago, though. It struck me while re-reading the book that there is a scene in the book where Florentyna, the main character, doesn't know what a virgin is - and when I read the book for the first time, I didn't really know what it meant either.) Anyway, I recently borrowed this book from the school library and was surprised by how much I enjoyed it even after so many years.

The Prodigal Daughter may be described as a sequel to Archer's wildly famous Kane and Abel, and is essentially the story of Florentyna Rosnovski - the daughter of Baron Abel Rosnovski of the original novel. Florentyna is an amazing character. She's intelligent, witty and kind - except when she rolls her fingers into a fist, which is when you have to watch out. And as it happens, she falls in love with one Richard Kane (son of William Kane in the original book) who just happens to be the son of her father's worst enemy. This book details everything that happens in her life - from her formative years to her years in college, to finally her affair with Richard and the subsequent drama that follows, and finally ends with her campaign to be the first female president of the united states of america.

The book, like every other Archer book, is extremely well-written. There is not a single dull moment, the dialogues are memorable, and the writing is very clean and masterful. The cast of characters is large (since this details the past and future of two families) but since each character is so unique (though not often very uniquely named) that is quite easy to keep them straight. Archer does not fall into the trap of having children with the exact characteristics of either parents and practically the same life, and therefore the book has a touch of realism that is really very useful. All in all, this book is masterfully plotted, the story is very interesting, and despite the large scale of the events the book is so delightfully human (and here the role of Florentyna as a character cannot be denied) that one cannot help but feel like the book is very human.

Final Thoughts: Excellently plotted, well-written, and with some of the most wonderful characters ever written - a book that no one should miss, though I recommend reading Archer's Kane and Abel first.

Other thoughts: Sorry for the long delay guys. But I'm almost through with New York, half-way through The Color of Magic, and also simultaneously reading some other books, so you can expect a lot of reviews in the near future. Until then, happy reading. :)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was a nice book, just not perhaps as good as I expected it to be.

The first time I saw this book in the local Crossword (and it has been on the special shelf forever now) I thought that it seemed like a different book - specifically because of the cover art, which I like very much - though as far as tattoos go, this was probably better. But I didn't buy it at the time because I didn't find the back descriptions particularly interesting (except for the part of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo herself). Later on, however, I read this review, and I decided to read the book after all. But then, obviously, I forgot all about it. And then last Rakshabandhan, I decided that my brother was going to buy me some books, so I bought King's Nightmares and Dreamscapes (which I read and reviewed first, here) and this book.

I won't say I was disappointed. Maybe I just had very high expectations. But there were both positives and negatives in this one.

The first thing was the beginning, which is slow and full of pages and pages of characters telling their stories. I understand why this is important to move the story forward, but to tell the truth I skimmed through the whole long family histories and the exposition in the beginning just because it was plain boring. I do read a lot of description in many books, but the pace I expected from this book was sorely lacking in the beginning, though it picked up phenomenally towards the end.

But if the book began slowly then it certainly ended with a bang. There were loads of positives about the book, starting, of course, from the wonderful characters. I loved the characters - all of them - from the enigmatic Lisbeth Salander (the girl with the dragon tattoo), the honest and hard-hitting and charming journalist Blomkovist and even most of the dysfunctional family that these two unite to probe. None of the characters are totally good - there are shades of grey in all of them, and there are some that are positively black, and the best part is that its not so predictable that you know from the onset which character comes in which category. Larsson has really written many memorable characters in this one, and no matter what I'd felt about this book, I knew from the starting of the book that I would have to read the next one - if just for Lisbeth, who is one of my favourite characters at the moment. The inter-character relationships are also amazingly well done - they're beautiful, complex, and so very human that one can't help but admire Larsson as a writer when you read them.

The plot is quite engrossing, especially after the first thirty or forty pages. In fact, after that point the book is edgy, fast, and extremely interesting - so much so that I couldn't put down the book even though I really had to study for my term end exams because I was so afraid of what would happen to the characters ahead. Through most of the book, I was just hoping that the mystery at the centre of this book was solved in this book itself and not in one of the sequels (I think I would never even have touched the sequels if this had happened, though. I don't mind cliffhanger endings at the end of chapters, but I do hate unfinished books). I really thought the main plot was very interesting, and definitely not predictable (which would definitely have killed a book which is based so strongly on the suspense) - and the subplots (especially the one considering Erika, who is another great character) which weave in and out of the main story without ever drawing the attention away from it.

I also really like Larsson's way of writing from many different point-of-views, because it really helps you to sympathize with a wide variety of characters (though he cleverly avoids showing you a glimpse into the heads of anyone who might reveal more of plot than he wants to reveal at the time). This style of writing works very well with the structure of the book, because the story is quite vast and involves a large cast of characters, and the whole story only becomes clear when you see it with the different views. (I also enjoyed seeing Harriet and Lisbeth's different reactions to similar situations - and Lisbeth's judgement of Harriet for the same - very layered and very interesting. This was my favourite part of the book.)

Final thoughts: It begins slightly slowly, but overall its a good book - with a nice plot, fast pace, and highly interesting characters. Its quite graphic (definitely not for kids) but if you're okay with that and like action/suspense, I'm pretty sure you'll like this book.

Other thoughts: Well, after a long time the books I've read are going ahead of the reviews I've written. I'm going to write a review of Which Witch? pretty soon, and I've also read Adiga's White Tiger, a review of which will also be coming fast.

Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Playing for Pizza is one of those books that touch your heart.

It is a book about football (not soccer, which is what I generally associate with the word 'football'), about food, about Italy, and about passion and love. When I first read this book, I didn't know a thing about american football (admittedly, I still don't know too much about it) and I thought that it would be a pretty boring book for someone who is admittedly not too much of a sports fan. (And, when I recently recommended the book to a friend, she also said 'Oh, I don't really like american football, so I don't want to read it'). Well, here's the thing - you don't have to know anything about american football (or, for that matter, any sport in the world) to enjoy this book. You can enjoy it if you know a thing or two about doing something for love, about culture and about friendships that can last forever.

I think one of the best things about the book is the main character. Rick is, by no means, perfect. The book begins with him being the 'biggest goat in the history of professional football', by throwing three interceptions and causing his team to lose a match that they were almost certainly going to win, and making them lose the cup. He then finds that no team in the country wants to touch him, except for a team in Parma, Italy (and he has never even heard of the place) - Italy, where when you say 'football', they mean soccer. Well, he faces this ridicule bravely, moves to Italy (with a little complaining) and ends up falling in love with the place. And eventually the choices he has to make for the team and for himself are the highlight of the book.

There are some great minor characters - Sam (Rick's new coach), Franco (an old judge part of the Parma Panthers) and Nino (a restaurant chef who is also part of the team), Fabrizio ("high maintenance, think's he's god's gift to football, great hands"). All the Italians in the Parma Panthers play for nothing more than the love of the game (and for the after-game Pizza) and with them Rick (and the readers) learn what football really means. Each character is distinct and well-crafted, and their individual egos, problems, phobias, and aspirations form as big a part of this story as Rick's learning experience does. In this book, you will come to like some of the Parma Panthers and dislike some of them, but it is hard to ignore any character that you're introduced to, simply because Grisham is so good at crafting the characters.

Another great thing is the setting - the small town of Parma in Italy is shown in all its glory and all its failings. The descriptions of the food, the buildings, the small cars, the fashion, and the opera - all of this things will make you want to visit this place. Every small detail shows how well Grisham has studied this place. You are transported to Parma, and you might just fall in love with it enough in this book to want to stay there forever.

Final thoughts: Brilliant characters, well-researched setting and a good premise. You don't have to be a football fan to love this book.

Other things: I haven't been able to finish Frankenstein yet, but I think I'll put that on hold for now, and move on to reading something else.