Shantaram is the kind of story that will make you look at life from an entirely different angle. At more than 900 pages, it surely was a long read. It is deemed to be the author's autobiography, but I dare say some parts could only happen in a dream or a nightmare.

Set in the year 1980, the story revolves around Lin, an Australian fugitive who escaped to India. In Mumbai, he meets Prabaker, an amiable tour guide/taxi driver who quickly became my favorite. But like most boys I chose to like, he broke my heart in the most shocking of ways. As expected, he made me cry.

The first few chapters had me yawning, but as the drama unfolds, I found it hard to put the book down. Shantaram presents vile accounts of life in Mumbai. The horrible experiences the characters battled against: cholera, poverty, prostitution, human trafficking, murder, and war are powerful enough to make you hate mankind. But Roberts managed to inject heart-rending accounts of love, friendship, and loyalty mixed with a sprinkle of humor that will keep you believing we're not hopeless, after all.

It's impossible not to like this book mainly because Roberts is a master weaver of lyrical, philosophical sentences that will surely resonate with anyone who has a soul.