THE GIRL (Penguin Viking, 2006):

Buy the book:

• Flipkart
• Landmark

'In the tradition of Elizabeth Smart's cult classic By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, The Girl makes romantic suffering something of epic proportions. Rife with wildly extended metaphors, the real treat of this book is the dazzling and often strangely dark visual imagery, the gloomy, monsoon-drenched descriptions of Goa and its Portuguese Catholic ethos, and most of all, the candid expression of a universally tortuous human experience-lopsided love.'

— India Today

♦ The Girl Book Launch with Gregory David Roberts, author of Shantaram:
Hear Greg speak about The Girl here, or via

♦ Question and answer session (may contain spoilers):

Greg asking about the use of multiple voices in the book.
Greg asking about the book's strong sense of mystery.
Language of the book, the spirit of Goa.
Inspiration from your own life?
How long did you live in Goa? Recapturing what is lost.
Bar Girl's suicide compared to The Girl (Question refers to one of Sonia's "Dying of the Evening Stars" series of articles in Tehelka).
Greg asking about writing as a journalist and as a novelist.
How did you come up with the title?
Greg asking about the subject of suicide, what can be done to help people.
Greg on teen suicides in Australia, success of de-stigmatization depression, and the tragedy of suicide.
Greg speaking about The Girl.

The Girl Book Launch with Gregory David Roberts