It has always seemed like the first 2 weeks of cultural shock one experiences in a new country, after that you live as the romans do and their perspective often makes more sense than your own desperate attempt to cling onto your old ex pat ways. This is the story of india which is its people: the assassination of Indira Gandhi is insignificant and the resulting sectarian violence that would befall the ordinary working people is what he fears.įor this I see no diminishment, the fixation of them vs us novels has never inspired me. A big novel stands out from the crowd on the new fiction table, demanding attention. Him cleaning rat bites from slum dwellers is nothing in comparison to the fact these dwellers would have gone to work regardless if he had not moved into there. I think this and the eloquence of his writing it what makes this such an exceptional story.

I believe it supersedes this by focusing on the better plot points of each character - their fortitude. I feel the magic of this book is the profound narration in finding that balance of truths which don't belittle the intelligence of the reader by curtailing their viewpoint.

These situations have become so demoralising that our (Australia) government has had to completely ban surrogacy from india. When I first saw it, it had to take a back-burner. Small glimmers of desperation are revealed, the most honest being the blue sisters kidney harvesting. The Reddit Book Club had a new book for February and March of 2022 - Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. If anything it's humbling and optimistic, especially in the slum which I dare say it would be dishonest in parts. It's strange to see indian media being critical of Gregory's portrayal of Mumbai in the 80s as derogatory.

David roberts shantaram