Shantaram : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Best opening paragraph I have read since "Tale of Two Cities". Having been to India a number of times it was wonderful to be able to almost smell the country in the way he writes. His adventures are incredible and if he has done half of what he writes about he is amazing. I highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: A most amazing adventure
Review: Certainly one of the best books I have ever read. I have never been to India, however I feel I grew up there. Real or not real, that is part of the mystery and charm of this huge book.

I am fortunate to have a signed first Australian edition (where it was first published) which I am certain will do nothing but grow in value over the next few years.

I have also heard that a movie is being made for release next year. We can only hope.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: Each paragraph is poetry in this magnificent book. An engaging plot and amazing writing style make this the best book in the entire world. I have read most of the classics but this has them all easily beat.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favor: read this book.
Review: I have, in the last three years, read literally hundreds of books of fiction. I can quite easily list the three bodies of work which were the most enjoyable, instructive, and otherwise influential to me. In order they are: 1) the entire 21 book series of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin historic naval literature (probably the best series of books I have ever read), 2) the three books of Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle (Quicksilver, The Confusion, and the System of the World), each book being better than the previous one, and 3) Shantaram.

Shantaram is a love story from start to finish: love of mankind, love of friends, love of a woman, love of a country, love of a city, love of an adversary, love of a way of life, love of a people, love of adventure, love of a father, and, most apparent, love for the reader.

The protagonist (based on the writer himself) is a complex adventurer with a deep soul and a past which, though you and I can never fully appreciate it unless we have done similar things (highly unlikely...few of us have ever been tortured, for example, or kicked a heroin habit twice) is made accessible to us, complete with its feelings and lessons.

The writing is superb, the characters have depth, the setting descriptions place you right there, the plots are intriguing, and the emotions, including humor, I cannot adequately describe, since I have nowhere near the skills of the writer, Gregory Roberts.

I cannot recommend the book more highly. Please do yourself a favor and read it.

Rating:
Summary: just exquiste level of skill at descriptions
Review: of Bombay, of Afganistan, of the Bombay underworld, of the people he met there and created a life with. A lost soul searching for meaning, and for love-not romantic love, just goodness; and getting sidetracked along the way. In a way, it feels like watching a really great old Bogart movie, with such richly drawn character actors that they could steal the show from the main guy. I didn't want to miss one word. His website is a little much, frankly, a bit overinvolved in his own celebrity, but the novel is just a great, great read.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing life. An amazing book.
Review: Substance abuse. A life of crime. Prison breakout. The colours and smells of Mumbai. The slums. The leper colonies. Bollywood. The Bombay mafia. Fighting with the mujaheddin in Afghanistan. True friendship. Love. Betrayal. Redemption. Grief. Despair. "Shantaram" has all this and more.

Gregory David Roberts has, on any view, led an amazing life. And, leveraging off some of his amazing life experiences, he has written an amazing book. In all likelihood, Shantaram will stand as Roberts' magnum opus.

The book, however, is not without its flaws (the hokey philosophising between Lin and Khaderbhai is downright embarrassing). And at 933 pages, it is a veritable tome and could have benefited from some judicious editing. But these are minor quibbles.

Not surprisingly, plans are already underway to make a movie based on the book, with Johnny Depp's production company having recently acquired the rights to the book for $2 million. Depp is slated to play Lin, with Helena Bonham Carter and Emily Watson also being mentioned in connection with the project. The project has also attracted interest from Russell Crowe, who was disappointed to learn that he'd missed the chance to play the lead role.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning Stuff
Review: Thank heaven, Rama, Ganesh -- choose your gods and rejoice the novel is not dead; herein -- and 900 plus pages of herein -- there is matter enough for several lifetimes; Shantaram is the real deal -- the stuff of heroes, the epic of Bombay, the journey of a soul in search of itself, the revelation of a good man gone bad and recovered, and a paean to a people we in the West have yet to truly discover -- the people of India; Gregory David Roberts, former addict, thief, failure here fashions a tale of several cities -- the Bombay of the tourist, the terrorist, the beggar man, the thief, the prisoner, the chief; there is war, peace, love, love lost, love regained; the writing is dramatic, clear, sometimes clumsy, always heartfelt; the book's editors with unusual good sense allowed the author to tell his tale and live with his telling; Shantaram is a supremely cinematic tale -- of friends and enemies, teachers and disciples; it is said that all of us in one lifetime or another lived as Indians; Roberts allow us to relive those lives and celebrate how, under the skin, we are one and the same soul. Well done.

Rating:
Summary: SHOULD GET THE PULITZER PRIZE
Review: The author said this book was 11 years in the making. It was worth the wait!! A novel with a grand scope and characters who we all can learn from. Set in India, fairly exotic for many, the
900 plus pages clip along at a fast rate and enough changes to keep everyone hooked. There are messages about life in this book we all need to be reminded of and take to heart. Some of the writing was just breath taking. Don't miss it.

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional!
Review: This book is a must read! Lyrical and beautiful. It will make you laugh and cry. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: I'm sorry it ended.
Review: What a great book! It was one of those that I did not want to end. A great story, great philosophical insights and a wealth of learning about the culture and customs of Bombay, India as a whole and all of South Asia. A real epic. The book was so obviously autobiographical on the part of the author that it makes me wonder if he got another one in him.