I am taking a big lesson these days. There is a saying do not judge a book by its cover. Well I think I have made the mistake. I have bought the book Shataram few months back and have recently started reading it. It’s a mammoth of 950 pages and I am halfway through. The book sucks. Sometimes plot is good. Sometimes very obvious. Sometimes very verbatim. Sometimes brilliant. Sometimes pathetic. If you ask me this questions “How have you managed to read some 450 pages if you do not like the book?”. My answer will be “Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I don’t”. The worst part of the book is when it takes a plunge into philosophic discourse. It’s pathetic to see that Australian Lin discussing philosophy with his gangster boss. It just doesn’t fit. I think Gregory Roberts wanted to write everything at the same time. He was targeting the Nobel but then toned down to Booker. Once he realized that getting the Award is for literary giants he decided to increase his bank balance. So his book took care of that part. But overall lot of pain and hard work has gone into the book. The imagery used in the book appeals a lot. But when it’s going good something bad pops up. Like the cholera scene in the slum. Cholera has broken out in the slum. Things are pretty bad. People are dying. Pain and death everywhere. Lin was doing his best to help the slum people with his quack medicine skills. Then Karla appears suddenly in the slum. Karla is Lin’s girlfriend. Then the author through Lin starts describing Karla’s physical beauty, her Salwar Kamiz etc. The way the descriptions were flowing, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lin would have told something like Karla had wonderful boobs. Round and firm. Very soft. Very Creamy. Well I think the timing was bad. I did not like it. But these are subjective things. What appeals to me might not appeal to others. I paid for the book so I guess I have right to criticize it. Anyway I will finish the book asap. At the end of the day the Book is an International Best seller. Till then let me keep guessing who put Lin inside the jail!
