Dhananjaya “Danny” Rajaratnam has been living in Australia illegally for 4 years now. He has masked his Sri Lankan accent. He has golden streaks in his hair. He starts his sentences with a loud “Look” and finishes with “I reckon” because he has been told that is how Australians speak. He references rugby whenever he is happy or sad or angry but never calls out the sport by its name. He has gradually become an invisible ‘Australian.’ He cleans houses, works at a grocery store, and is willing to do anything to live another day.

One day he finds out a woman whose house he used to clean has been murdered. He has a vague guess who the murderer might be. The content of the book lies here. Should Danny go to the police and tell them what he knows risking the exposure of his illegal status or should he just look after himself? What is the right thing to do? What will ‘Honest Danny,' as he has been called so many times, do what is right?

AMNESTY by Aravind Adiga is an intriguing character study. Even at the novel's short length, the Man-Booker Prize-winning author speaks volumes. We get a glimpse at Danny’s past life in Sri Lanka, his brief venture in Dubai, his intentions, his motives. . . it’s all there. We keep asking the same question page after page as Danny tells us his story, that his vegan girlfriend asks him so many times as well, “Why did he leave everything behind to be here?” The answer is right in front of us all along.

AMNESTY is a book about people. It so beautifully describes how each person will behave with respect to citizenship, authenticity, and nationality. It is a rich tapestry of culture and heritage, and understands where everybody comes from and doesn’t blame them for it. It is also a portal to these beautiful places against whose backdrop the story is set in. The city of Sydney and the island Batticaloa of Sri Lanka come alive. We can feel the heat of Sydney and enjoy the cool water of the lagoon of Sri Lanka simultaneously.

AMNESTY is a story that we have to believe, in spite of our unreliable narrator, and yet we end up rooting for him (or at least I did). Danny says at one point, “There are some thick old walls on which poster has been stuck on poster. Peel away the posters--and the whole structure falls.”

If you like reading such thought-provoking books, I am sure AMNESTY by Aravind Adiga won’t disappoint you.