"It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured." "'Shantaram' is not so much a mirror as a mirror ball, spinning with relentless drive, dazzling but ungraspable. And, again, audacious. Gloriously audacious" (Sydney Morning Herald) "With the grand sweep and scale of a Bollywood movie, 'Shantaram' is unlike any other Australian novel for quite some time this is a rip-roaring read Full of jail-house philosophy, human frailty and resilience, Sufi wisdom and street-fighting tactics, 'Shantaram' is by turns inspiring, hair-raising and poignant" (Australian Bookseller and Publisher)