Firstly, it's a huge book, almost 950 pages. It took me a while to get through it as it was one of those books that I did best with when I read it in big chunks rather than reading a few pages here and there. It kept me entertained through a couple of long flights that had delays and diversions - perfect!
Set in Bombay it tells the story of an escaped prisoner, his life there and the people he meets along the way. It's based on the author's life with some obvious exaggeration. Is it a modern day 'Papillon'? Maybe, but it isn't half as good as 'Pappy'.
It is a love story, an adventure story, it has folk lore type tales within and (rather tedious) philosophical discourse. The main idea running throughout it is "doing the wrong thing for the right reason".
Overall, it's entertaining but my main problems with it were that I didn't like the central character and that some of the writing/ phrases seemed a little overthought. If you like long books and haven't read it give it a go, it's an easy read with wide appeal but I wouldn't rave about it.
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