Shantaram

An escaped Australian convict makes a life in 1980s Bombay — slum clinic, black market, the city’s informal economy — in a novel drawn from the author’s own years there.

Why it’s on the list: Named in the historical-fiction thread. Less conventional history than the other answers, but it is an unusually detailed account of how an informal urban economy actually functions.

Where I saw it: In Kyle’s “Books To Read” Apple Note, recovered from the reply thread to @moseskagan asking “What historical fiction should I read next? (Bonus points for something involving building or trade, rather than violence)” (April 13, 2025). The full recovered list lives on What historical fiction should I… (tweet).

Connections

• What historical fiction should I… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• City Building — Bombay’s informal economy is the setting and the subject.