Ratings9
Average rating3.9
The young readers' edition of the true story that inspired Lion, the major motion picture starring Dev Patel, David Wenham, Rooney Mara, and Nicole Kidman. When Saroo Brierley used Google Earth to find his long-lost home town half a world away, he made global headlines. Saroo had become lost on a train in India at the age of five. Not knowing the name of his family or where he was from, he survived for weeks on the streets of Kolkata before being taken into an orphanage and adopted by a couple in Australia. Despite being happy in his new family, Saroo always wondered about his origins. When he was a young man the advent of Google Earth led him to pore over satellite images of India for landmarks he recognized. And one day, after years of searching, he miraculously found what he was looking for and set off on a journey to find his mother.
Reviews with the most likes.
I read this book after watching the movie, Lion, and I have to say - what an inspiring book. I shall not dare to whinge about my childhood after reading about Saroo's, that's for sure. The movie was certainly more dramatic than the book. For one, Movie Saroo was a more melancholic and angsty than Book Saroo, who seemed like a very mellow and calm fellow - despite all that had happened to him. A moving book, especially at the end.
I really liked this book, it was amazing that such a tiny mistake had such a huge impact on Saroo's life. The memories he had from when he was a kid were heart-breaking, and were a story on their own, but when he became obsessed with finding the places from his memories to track down his family, that's what took this from a great story to an amazing story.
What a crazy, improbable, inspiring story. This is a short read and well worth the time and effort. Saroo's resiliency as a child and his determination to find his family are fascinating. Highly recommend.