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| Shantaram: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Gregory David Roberts
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.34
You Save: $6.61 (44%)
Buy New/Used from $7.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  (277 reviews)
Sales Rank: 638
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 944
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 1.7
ISBN: 0312330537
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9780312330538
ASIN: 0312330537
Publication Date: October 1, 2005
Release Date: September 29, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
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.
Amazon.com Review
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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| Customer Reviews: Read 272 more reviews...
 This book has the power to change our planet, for the better December 1, 2008
I have never read any novel that can at all, and in any way compare with the raw, soulwrenching, sheer power, grace, and glory of this so called "novel" Shantaram. Brothers Karamazov comes closest, but I think what Gregory Roberts has given us is a book that will in time, i truly believe, become the greatest piece of literature ever put to press. It is so much more than just a book! As I tell my surprised, skeptical friends: "It is my Bible".
Wow!! November 19, 2008
I absolutely loved this book. It tells the story of a man, who after his marriage falls apart turns to a life of drugs and crime only to end up in a New Zeland prison. After he escapes from the prison, he finds his way to India where he meets some extraordinary people, sets up a medical clinic in the slum where he lives, and eventually works for the mafia. The vast majority of the novel occurs in India, with the New Zealand history revealed in flashbacks. The characters are vivid, and you both love and hate the lead character. I got hooked on this book from the first sentence, and loved it until the end almost 1000 pages later.
Word is that Johnny Depp is planning on making this into a movie, but it's been delayed due to some other projects.
Extraordinary novel November 16, 2008
Roberts writes like a god; the story is autobiographical, philosophical. Beginning with an escape from prison, the saga takes one into modern day India and from thence to Afghanistan. Our hero describes the different lives he led with the delicacy of a surgeon and the spiritual evolvement of a highly-evolved soul. Falling in love at first sight, the hero is led into a byzantine mist of cultural contradictions, crime and war. The issue of moral proximity is examined from every angle. Roberts is candid about how he fell from grace and how, in the end he found release from the demons that possessed him. I could not put it down and the story haunts me still.
The best book I've ever read October 31, 2008
I started reading Shantaram without knowing exactly what to expect. Once I started, I literally could not put the book down. You really live through his stories. It is an unbelievable book that is without question the best book I've ever read. It is a great book for a long plane ride, as it is hard to put down.
See, smell, taste, explore Bombay October 30, 2008
I loved the detailed feel of this book - it felt really authentic. I loved the character of Prabakar - he really made the book for me. I could hear his voice and see his head waggle as he talked.
Really an amazing story. I kept flipping to the back cover to read that this was based on his true experiences. It's really unbelievable at times!
Enjoyable read.
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