Roma

Having just finished reading Shantaram, I came here to look for more of Mr. Roberts work. I've been a very avid reader for many years and I was totally amazed by Mr. Roberts. I've never read anything by anyone else who can put words together in such a beautiful and amazing way.

I don't know how much I would have made of this short had I not read Roberts' Shantaram first. It clearly shows some promise, but it's a not even a patch upon what Roberts is capable of. Although there is only one real data point available regarding his work - Shantaram - it is such an important and magnificent one, that it is impossible not to believe that Roberts can achieve much, much more than this. Given that, I really don't comprehend the point of this short.

The above notwithstanding, I would qualify this as a pleasant read, if not a soul-stirring and stomach-churning one like Shantaram. The story is an interesting slice-of-life from the author's own experiences, a vicarious exhibition of the author's own undying passion for the city of Bombay through the tale of another's love for the city of Rome. It includes a lot of the hallmark elements of the author's style and content, from casual references about Bombay's underbelly to sympathy-evoking observations on the homeless global resident, but never gets an opportunity to develop any of the ideas. And therein lies the failing of the story, for Roberts is clearly not as adept at writing a short as he is when given a chance to write an epic. His strength clearly lies in his phenomenal observational powers, and furthermore, his ability to capture the essence of an idea, a place, or a person, in a great amount of detail without succumbing to the trite, something which he is unable to do in this piece.

Summarily, Roberts is clearly not a haiku writer, and should probably stick to the long form. For die-hard fans like myself though, I would not hesitate for a second in recommending the purchase, for given the paucity of his work, I would want to read any and everything he writes.

I'll admit to some biases on my part in having chosen to purchase author GDR's story. Its title appealed to me, primarily because my initial thinking was that this story was about European Roma, or 'gypsies,' who -- as I breezed through Mr. Robert's story -- possess a binding connection to the magical mysterious setting which Mr. Roberts has chosen for his "Roma," that being the city of Bombay, India. It reminds me of a book I've been meaning to read forever called MAXIMUM CITY. If the author hasn't seen or heard of it before, I think he'd relish the chance to compare his very own experience in the Big Smoke compared to that of the latter novel's writer.

Onto the story itself:

There were two fabulous one-liners which I thought were "gems" in their own right...for example (and I shan't provide the page numbers, for I'd like you to read for yourselves):

-- "...stuck a long pin in the voodoo doll of casual friendship..." (what a line!)

-- "...put an end to this conversation...and to the entire future tense..." (you floored me with this one!)

In any event, the deeper I stuck into the read, the more my mind was cast back to that Costner film from the early '90s, "Prince of Thieves," and your character of Tateef reminds me of "the Muslim" (portrayed masterfully by Morgan Freeman) from the aforementioned Prince of Thieves. I don't know why, but that's what came to mind...if you haven't seen that film, I think you'll realize what I mean...that's when Costner was acting in phenomenal movies...now...? I'm getting off the beat for a moment...

It would appear Mr. Roberts is a scribe of very promising repute, and what makes his stories all the more wholesome and viscerally-intense and trenchant is his personal backstory, which I am astounded by and respectful of. (If you're interested in a biography, please contact me!) I doff my hat time and time again to this valiant author who seems to have, in the words of Jerzy Kosinski, "lived out his many different selves."

Mr. Roberts appears to have reinvented himself time and over again, and I envy him terribly, in the way that perhaps Germans used to envy Andreas Baader from the old Baader-Meinhof Gang. Baader had a seductive quality to his activism and his apparent rascalism, and I Mr. Roberts has clearly tapped into this dynamic. There is no greater creativity than the one which is borne of adversity and trauma, and the results -- evidenced by tales like "Roma" -- unearth this truth in stark detail.

I would like to see more of your anthology, sir. You have certainly gained my rapt attention and interest.

I commend you heartily for this work, and would recommend this to anyone in the reading mood for a dollop of passion, boundless adventure (uncertain as it can sometimes be), and the liberating spirit of the open sea -- all prominent themes in this compact 10-folio'ed slice of time.

Keep up the superb work. Your new fan in Prague.