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Title: Shantaram: A Novel
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Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
List Price: $26.95
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| Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press An amazing semi-autbiographical fiction novel! | One of the few things more amazing than the novel "Shantaram" is the man who wrote it; Gregory David Roberts. I watched a video conference with him and much of the book seems to be taken out of real or similar events that happened to him, particularly the major events in the book (prison escape, jailed in India, working with the Indian mafia, etc.) Leopold's is a real bar in Mumbai as well. I believe what makes this a "novel" are the little details; anecdotes, and exaggeration's, alterations of characters.
That said, assuming much of what we read here is based on true events that happened to the man is simply a magnificent story of a fascinating life. Here is a man that has felt the full spectrum of life, flirting with death and danger more than I would ever be capable of doing, and has gained a seemingly profound understanding of himself in the process.
If you are intrigued at all by this book, than it is likely you will enjoy. There is an upcoming film staring Johnny Depp based on the book. I don't see how a movie could possibly do it justice, and the film industry's constant efforts to make works of art more palatable for the masses is a constant source of frustration to me.
I highly recommend this book (like many others) and do yourself a favor and read it BEFORE the upcoming film comes out! | | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press WOW | Shantaram was by far the best book I have ever read! It took me to another time and place and I just didn't want to put it down.
I highly reccommend this book. | | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press two thirds of this nine-hundred-thirty-three page adventure deserve four stars, or better... | Seems to me the author did himself and the audiance a disservice by not making this a memoir--and you can be certain of one thing: it would have clearly been one hell of a powerful memoir.
As it stands, the first two-thirds, as stated, are gripping and believable; the trouble is, for me, when he gets into all the mafia nonsense. Some of the twists and turns are far-fetched and just plain ridiculous (and comes across as scenes right out of the Godfather--a film that is way overrated, by the way.)
Some, not all, of the philosophizing is a nuisance; and then you've got this mafia head who sort of comes across like a Don Corleone immitation (and that struck me as total B.S.; you've got the gang wars, more B.S.,and so on--and it really wasn't necessary.)
For the love of me, I don't get why the writer had to turn the incredible ordeal and life he'd lived into this (during last third of the book) screwie soap-opera type of tale. It boggles the mind.
On the other hand, sadly I do know: pot-boilers (sometimes) sell better than memoirs. It still doesn't lessen the sadness for me, because the book is absolutely brilliant in places and is proof the writer has talent and could have stayed clear of the soap opera shananigans.
The book deserves an honorable *** & 1/2 stars, only there is no way to do it with this system that amazon has going.
| | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press shantaram | | Very well written and evocative, shows love and respect for the Indian people and great insight into the appalling inequality they endure and the spirit with which they survive. | | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press A Seductively Dangerous Book | n many ways Roberts is an amazing writer. He draws compelling characters, creates a wonderful sense of space, and uses language colorfully. However, Shantaram, ultimately goes nowhere and is unsatisfying. It is a book about an addict. A man who is addicted to heroin, to crime, to ideas and to his inflated sense of self importance.
Shantaram is a novel the same way "A Million Little Pieces". It's autobiographical with poetic license.
A heroin addict, turned criminal, busts out of a maximum security jail in Australia, and with a forged passport, winds up in Bombay. He assumes the name Lin, given to him by the first guide he meets, and has many of the personal adventures described on the book jacket. In between the adventures, Lin preaches often cryptically sounding ideas, which are more glib than pithy -- there is no art without forgiveness, fanaticism is the opposite of love, etc. etc.
Ultimately, for all his musings, Lin learns nothing. He simply transfers one addiction for another. He was constantly betrayed by men in the Indian mafia, and you are led to believe that maybe he'll break away, but, no. After fighting in one war to aid a man who betrayed him in every way, he will ultimately fight in another for the same man, because he owed his life (which would never have been at risk in the first place, had he not gone to war for his Don, Khader) to a henchman.
When appalled at people's distaste for his descriptions of his compatriots as honorable men, Lin will glibly say that there's a difference between honor and virtue. Men who are arsonists, forgers (helping wanted men to travel), smugglers, who sacrifice their friends to put police off their trails are neither honorable, nor virtuous. They are thugs,who will turn on you, if need be. They turned on Lin and left him in prison, knowing they could have gotten him out, and knowing that he was supposed to be beaten to death. Yet the fact that he survived made him tougher and more valuable.
Roberts should find a more interesting subject than himself to write about. He certainly has the skill to do so. I hope he has the interest.
| | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press Product Description | "It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured."
So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear.
Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay's hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city's poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.
Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas---this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature.
| | Shantaram: A Novel by St. Martin's Press Amazon.com | | Crime and punishment, passion and loyalty, betrayal and redemption are only a few of the ingredients in Shantaram, a massive, over-the-top, mostly autobiographical novel. Shantaram is the name given Mr. Lindsay, or Linbaba, the larger-than-life hero. It means "man of God's peace," which is what the Indian people know of Lin. What they do not know is that prior to his arrival in Bombay he escaped from an Australian prison where he had begun serving a 19-year sentence. He served two years and leaped over the wall. He was imprisoned for a string of armed robberies peformed to support his heroin addiction, which started when his marriage fell apart and he lost custody of his daughter. All of that is enough for several lifetimes, but for Greg Roberts, that's only the beginning. He arrives in Bombay with little money, an assumed name, false papers, an untellable past, and no plans for the future. Fortunately, he meets Prabaker right away, a sweet, smiling man who is a street guide. He takes to Lin immediately, eventually introducing him to his home village, where they end up living for six months. When they return to Bombay, they take up residence in a sprawling illegal slum of 25,000 people and Linbaba becomes the resident "doctor." With a prison knowledge of first aid and whatever medicines he can cadge from doing trades with the local Mafia, he sets up a practice and is regarded as heaven-sent by these poor people who have nothing but illness, rat bites, dysentery, and anemia. He also meets Karla, an enigmatic Swiss-American woman, with whom he falls in love. Theirs is a complicated relationship, and Karla’s connections are murky from the outset. Roberts is not reluctant to wax poetic; in fact, some of his prose is downright embarrassing. Throughought the novel, however, all 944 pages of it, every single sentence rings true. He is a tough guy with a tender heart, one capable of what is judged criminal behavior, but a basically decent, intelligent man who would never intentionally hurt anyone, especially anyone he knew. He is a magnet for trouble, a soldier of fortune, a picaresque hero: the rascal who lives by his wits in a corrupt society. His story is irresistible. Stay tuned for the prequel and the sequel. --Valerie Ryan |
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Here in the lab: Black Dog achieved in 31 ZepMarks.
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