Sacred Games: An Epic Crime Novel of Mumbai's Inspector, Gangster, and Underworld (P.S.)

I loved, i loved, i loved this book. My god, i loved this book. Definitely one of my faves of this whole year worth of reading. I loved that it was this sprawling epic, i loved the twisty knot of its plot, i loved the complexity of the characters, i loved the structure of the dual narrative, i loved the little departures from that structure, i loved the way the whole novel is steeped in the intricacies of South Asian cultures. And OMG, but i’m in big love with Inspector Sartaj Singh.A caveat though: i read it as an e-book and only when i finished did i deeply regret that choice.There is, previously unbeknownst to me because of the fact that e-books automatically “open” to the first page of the narrative instead of at the table of contents, an extensive glossary at the end which was not cross linked throughout the e-text—words in Hindi and Urdu and so forth and translations of song lyrics and abbreviations which appear throughout the book—so i read the whole thing without knowing that i could have looked up the meanings of the untranslated foreign words and phrases. And i knew as soon as i realized that glossary existed (after finishing the novel), that if i’d read it as a paper book and seen the glossary cited in the table of contents i would have made use of it as i read along instead of relying solely on context to get the gist of things.AND THEN i checked the table of contents, because i was annoyed about the surprise glossary, and noted that there was a preface, too, with a full roster of the cast of main characters and i got double annoyed. Not because i had trouble keeping straight who the characters were, but because when a novel includes that sort of thing at the beginning, i like perusing it before i start to read.I guess if you went into it with this caveat in mind, maybe it would not bother you to read it as an e-book, but i probably would still have (in my time machine where i get this choice from the beginning) picked a hard copy, because since the glossary isn’t cross-linked, referring to it throughout an e-book read would be WAY more of a pain in the ass than just bookmarking it and flipping back and forth in a paper copy (FYI i went ahead and bought it in paperback, because i know i’ll read it again).

I bought this after greatly enjoying the drama on Netflix and was not disappointed. Know that if you liked the series, the book is very, very different. While the former was a thriller, the latter is much more a wide-ranging human drama, with several crime subplots, a first-person history of an Indian Godfather character, character back-stories, and philosophical looks at aging, dying, trust, and love, all working at the same time. In short, much of what's in the television drama is not in the book (and vice versa).Sacred Games is extremely well written and the characters sparkle with life and struggle with doubts, fears, and moral anxieties. As other reviewers have noted, there is a glossary in the back, which is helpful as there is a large amount of untranslated Hindi in the book. I found I could figure out some of it via context (and I've learned a good amount of local slang through reading this), but some peeks at the glossary will provide a reader new to Hindi with some welcome help.Excellent writing, and I found myself eager for opportunities to read a few more pages whenever I could, so I was glad it was a very long book.

English is a common language to the people of India, where over seven hundred are spoken. This is a boon for us because it makes for a rich literary tradition that has is immediately and directly available to the English speaking reader. This novel is no exception. While at heart it is a police procedural and a mystery, it is much broader in scope and grasp. It tackles the fascinating city of Mumbai, Sikh culture, the horrors of partition, the Bombay riots, organized crime, and much more of modern India. At it's heart are two central characters a weathered Sikh police detective Sartaj and a crafty powerful crime boss Gaitonde. In the opening chapters of the book Sartaj corners Gaitonde in an impenetrable fortress where Gaitonde takes his own life. Sartaj then takes on the task of finding out why he would and what exactly the notorious crime boss was up to. It turns out to have national implications and has also caught the attention of India's answer to the C.I.A.. Much of the story is told from Gaitonde's perspective it gives the story of his rise to power. Along the way many fascinating ancillary stories are told and a whole cast of colorful characters is brought to life. This is a sometimes long, but altogether satisfying, read.

Many reviews talk about a novel that moves like a freight train. This one moves like a passenger train. You start to build up speed, you reach a new station, some passengers leave(killed by the author) new ones get on and you begin again. The plot is right and smart, the f characters well written and interesting. A fine book, especially if one has an interest in contemporary crime and law enforcement in India.There is a glossary at the end which may prove helpful although context works quite well for the various languages used.

This is one of the best peace of literature i read till date. I read it after watching the TV series. It turns out to be sort off different than the web series.The book is intence gives detail description of the characters. Best among them are sartaj singh and ganesh gaitonde. You will definitely enjoy the writing its funny and gripping.I read some negative comments here saying that its too much detailed and it does not mach the web series and that, i feel sad for these people , ofcourse its detailed thats what makes it a literature there is a difference between a book and a web show.Finally, the book is best among the indian literature it touches different aspects of human lives love, greed, relationship ,longing, loneliness, sex, spirituality and all. Read and you will be enlighten on these things.

I bought a copy of this book soon after it was published and it sat languishing on my bookshelf. I kept putting off tackling its 947 pages of small print. But in the end I knew I had to make a start….In fact is proved to be a terrific read set in the seamier side of Indian society. Vikram Chandra makes a huge sweep of corruption, bribery, international terrorism, religion, Bollywood and cosmetic surgery. The two main characters are Sartaj Singh, a Sikh police inspector in Mumbai and Ganesh Gaitonde, a Hindu gangster and mafia don. Gaitonde recounts his story from beyond the grave – we know he is already dead right at the start of the book. Sartaj Singh is puzzled by the fact Gaitonde is found in a house that seems to have been reinforced to withstand a nuclear bomb – but we are not told the answer until 800 pages later.Basically Sacred Games is an easy read and is a good story but it goes off at lots of different tangents and sub-plots. The language is earthy and vibrant. At first I looked up translations of Hindi words but this was too disruptive to the flow of the narrative so in the end I just guessed their meaning from the context. (Maderchod is a great expletive – but not sure when I could put this into practice!)Well worth a read but I take off one star for being too long…..

I had first read the book a few years ago at a friends and found it utterly gripping. Just read it all over again and still couldn't put it down! It's so visceral, you can taste it and paints such vivid canvas of Mumbai and it's guts, of India and her people.

Ordered this after watching Series 1 of the Netflix adaptation as I couldn't wait to know the storyline and have to say I wasn't disappointed. How someone can capture so much minute details in a book is beyond me. Be warned the book is long but you cannot put it down. The book drags you through the highs and lows, the sights and sounds. It is absolutely superb and will definitely recommend. Vikram Chandra is a class act. I can imagine why he hasn't come up with a second book as I think he realises this is his masterpeice that cannot be improved. After reading Sartaj Singh and Ganesh Gaitonde's escapades in the book I never watched Series 2. In fact the series cannot do the book justice.

mr Chandra has efforlessly created a story which is brilliant in its scope. there are so many subplots and he has done justice to most of them. the central characters help the reader go through a lot of themes prevalent in india. it gives great insight into the functioning of police department, criminal world, glamour industry, naxalism, international espionage, the partition and so many other things. it also sketches the fluid status of the human emotions in their grey zomes beautifully. when a person does not know if they are good or bad.i thoroughly enjoyed it. i have also seen the season 1 adaptation of this story on the Netflix which is also good .