Tong Jing Jing itibaren Dimbaza, South Africa itibaren Dimbaza, South Africa

There were definitely parts of this book that I would have given 4 stars - so I was on the fence on what to rate it. The adventure story is great but the writing is a interjected with a lot of annoying "deep thoughts." For example, during a monsoon in rural India as the narrator is watching a swelling river opines that the river reminds of the river that runs through all of us. Sigh... The desire for detail in me is driven a little crazy by the premise of this book which is that it is a novel but that it is "based" on the life of the author. I would feel much more satisfied if I knew which parts were true and which were made up. It is quite an extraordinary tale. The parts of the book that took place when the main character lived in a slum in India are fascinating as are his descriptions of getting to know the culture and the language. Overall I really enjoyed this book - probably more than my 3 stars would indicate but there are some blots against it.