Like most of the other reviewers of this novel, I too am a voracious reader and have read hundreds of novels.Nothing I have ever read comes close to Shantaram. I have never felt so compelled by a story, characters, or my desire after 986 pages for it to continue ad infinitum.Gregory David Roberts takes his readers on an emotional, physical and spiritual journey. You will taste, smell and feel Bombay and the worlds he inhabits. You will sympathize with him and his circumstances, despite the crimes and drugs and otherwise formidible circumstances he encounters. You will be fuller and more complete by the end of this novel, but be warned: you'll be hungry for more.