Review #7: Lion

Author: Saroo Brierley

Rating: ★★★★★

I'm from those lucky people who have a family, a name, a house, and the need for street smartness only in certain situations of surviving independently, when living alone. So, for those who think living alone in another country with no parents around is scary, well then, you can only imagine the plight of a 5 year old boy who had to survive the streets of Calcutta in the 1980s alone, lost, and not knowing the language.

The book, as I'm pretty sure everyone knows by now, is the story of Saroo, who used to live in Ganesh Talai, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh with his mother, two elder brothers and younger sister. On a journey with his elder brother Guddu, who goes to the nearest railway station to find night work, and leaves Saroo behind at the station to sleep, only never to come back, and from there starts the adventures and misadventures that Saroo will face in the next 25 years of his life.

There was no way I was going to give this book any less than five stars, and I have a multitude of reasons for that. Firstly, the fact that he's managed to put 30 years worth of a life just down to 270 odd pages is commendable. In no way does he ever beat around the bush, neither does he ever drag the emotions to make you cry. It is concise, to the point, and gripping from the very first page. Secondly, I'm amazed at how strong willed this mere boy of 5 years old was to have survived some really bad situations. Surviving on the streets, going to Australia and settling down with a new family and then rekindling the hope of finding "home". The book also makes one realise as to how fortunate Saroo was, as he managed to make narrow escapes from some really horrible situations. It also dawns upon me that how unfortunate some kids in the same situation as him were, and Saroo has brilliantly managed to portray that in his story as well. The feelings of both the families, in India and in Australia, have been shown such beautifully as well. It really touched my heart to see that such human beings do exist who would bring up any child, no matter what the background and to do their bit to make the world a better place to live in.

At no given point of time does the writer overdo the emotion of being lucky to have found such a great Australian family, or take it for granted. If anything, he comes across as grateful and thankful, and never forgets where he came from and where his roots lie.

An inspiring story of courage, love and finding home, this book is a must read for all.

#nonfiction #autobiography #cultural