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The Mountain Shadow by Gregory David Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read 'Shantaram' four years ago. It was an enlightening experience for me, in terms of literary beauty as well as philosophy. But four years is a long time in which your inclinations, beliefs, degrees of innocence change. With more than faint memories of 'Shantaram' I started this book and admired GDR's style of writing very much, but I got stuck and irritated at parts where he professes philosophy like it's the only right way of life and there could be no alternative theories. I agree that he has done a massive reading and research in the philosophical field, but I'm just not in that phase of accepting philosophies as the bible. So, due to that attitude, I couldn't fully enjoy the book.
But, that's just a small part. The whole book is written beautifully with very elegant prose. Sometimes, you have to reread a paragraph to fully understand it and sometimes you just have to accept that you won't be able to get it. Yes, it happens. There were more than one instances in the book when I wondered what this dude was smoking while writing this. It's maddeningly complex and beautiful. Some sentences are written in a very show-offy way but one could discount it as the author's harmless ego.
Overall, I'm glad I read this sequel and would recommend it to people who liked 'Shantaram'.
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