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Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra
SACRED GAMES, by Vikram Chandra, is published in hardback by Faber and Faber, priced £17.99. Available September 7. This 900-page epic twists through the criminal underworld of India, touching upon the lives of gangsters, corrupt police officers, passion and deceit.
At the beginning of the book, heartthrob detective, Sartaj Singh, picks up the telephone and is tipped-off anonymously as to the whereabouts of a legendary Mumbai gangster, Ganesh Gaitonde.
As Singh approaches Gaitonde's hideaway, it becomes clear that reaching him may be more difficult than imagined - he is inside a concrete fortress. As Singh waits outside Gaitonde's door for a bulldozer to arrive, he is treated to the G-Company boss's life story.
When Gaitonde is later found dead in the hideout, the reader is handed posthumous gems of his life story, but the tale is not all it seems, and Sartaj Singh is suddenly faced with a mystery case of double death to solve, as Gaitonde's body lies next to that of a beautiful woman. Could the two be merely lovers, or is there a more complicated twist to the don's demise?
With the narrative split between divorcee Singh, his trusty sidekick Katekar, Gaitonde, and their intertwining lives of dirty money, secrets, tradition, women and religion, Chandra reels his reader into a rich history. Each character is described intricately, with their insecurities and thoughts laid bare on the pages.
At the start of the book, Chandra also lists the name of each character and their relationship to the main players, since the introduction of so many names can be slightly confusing at first.
But once you get used to the intermingling of Indian phrases, words, customs and huge array of names, Sacred Games opens out into a thrilling, intriguing read.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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