Shantaram – Gregory Roberts

Lin is a convict who escapes his Australian prison and flees to India to hide in the slums among the masses of people living there.  He is eventually caught, and extradited back to Australia, but Shantaram, loosely based on author Gregory Roberts’ life, is the story of the highs and lows of his time in Bombay.

Over the course of the story, Lin sets up a makeshift clinic, works as a mafia agent, finds a lover, is betrayed and seeks revenge, spends time in a Bombay prison and runs guns to Afghanistan.

Shantaram is only the first in a planned series of four books spanning Gregory Roberts’ life and comes in at a whooping 933 pages.

Shantaram is now available as a book group set from Maribyrnong Library.

The Little Stranger – Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger is an old-fashioned ghost story set in post World War II English countryside at Hundreds Hall, an eerie old mansion home to a host of varied characters most of whom form the local genteel society.  The story follows Dr Faraday, a hapless and penniless man who has returned to his home town to find the glorious hall he remembers from his childhood reduced to a shadow of what it once was.

Strange happenings begin to occur at Hundreds Hall and Dr Faraday, who considers himself a rational man, is often the one called upon to provide the terrified occupants with a reasonable explanation.

Sarah Waters has won much critical acclaim with past works (Tipping the Velvet, Fingersmith, The Night watch) for her ability to build a rich atmosphere and complex narrative and now she brings that style to a suspense/mystery/horror genre.

The Little Stranger is now available as a book group set at Maribyrnong Library.