Hooray! You have added the first book to your bookshelf. Check it out now!
[−]
  • Search Digit-count Valid ISBN Invalid ISBN Valid Barcode Invalid Barcode
Blog this item

Shantaram

A Novel

By Gregory David Roberts

(385)

| Paperback | 9780312330538

Like Shantaram?
Join aNobii to see if your friends read it, and discover similar books!

Sign up for free

Book 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 contempContinue

"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.

Critics

  • Shantaram

    La trama e le recensioni di Shantaram, romanzo di Gregory David Roberts edito da Neri Pozza. Nel 1978, il giovane studente di filosofia e attivista politico Greg Roberts viene condannato a 19 anni di prigione per una serie di rapine a mano armata. È ... (read full critics)

    Qlibri published on Mon, 29 Nov 2010

  • Shantaram

    Shantaram Gregory David Roberts St. Martin's Griffin Paperback 944 pages September 2005 I have a confession to make. Books that can double as pillows or sitting stools almost invariably scare the hell out of me. The fear of being buried under a tower ... (read full critics)

    curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

21 Reviews

Login or Sign Up to write a review

  • 8 people find this helpful

    love, suffering, and love...

    TThis book got on Amazon.com 219 "five stars" out of 281: that's an astounding 4,55 stars average meaning 91% of readers liked it hugely.
    I am in the 9%.
    I mean, this is an excellent craftsman's product and I am sure the author is a nice guy, so I gave him my 4 stars out of 5.
    Also, in some ways t ... (continue)

    TThis book got on Amazon.com 219 "five stars" out of 281: that's an astounding 4,55 stars average meaning 91% of readers liked it hugely.
    I am in the 9%.
    I mean, this is an excellent craftsman's product and I am sure the author is a nice guy, so I gave him my 4 stars out of 5.
    Also, in some ways this novel is a sort of enclyclopedia.
    Let us just take animals: rats, dogs, bears, horses... we'll learn a lot about them thanks to Shantaram (and the book is not about animals!). Same thing for weapons, floods, dope, etc. - name a subject! And some episodes, like how to get into a train or life in the village, are worth re-reading several times. So it's at least a very good holiday reading and let's not forget this novel is part autobiography.

    But Greg Roberts has too put it all together too cunningly for my taste to give it ****.
    Probably Greg had a good autobiography in his hands, but he decided to make the millions with the best-selling novel - who am I to blame him?
    So what really I disliked is Roberts' total lack of fear to become repetitive. But hey, I am not the majority! Many readers DO LOVE to be told the same things over and over again for almost 1000 pages and this probably makes the bestseller.
    Let me give you some examples (before you throw your stones at me, recall I am giving **** at the end of the day):
    -Karla is a beautiful woman, and he loves her, but she is not able to love back. But she is beautiful, the most beautiful woman. And he loves her. But she only likes him, she does not love him...
    Did I forget to mention he loves her but she is not able to love him?)
    -Khader Khan is a philosopher, and a mafia don. Although he is a mafia don, he is a philosopher... The author loves him like a father. Yes, he loves the philosopher-mafia don who could have been his father.
    -Prabu has a wide smile. Prabu's smile is wide. Prabaker, a.k.a. Prabu, really knows how to make a smile. Smiling Prabu... I can't avoid smiling - like Prabu!
    -love, love, love, love, love...
    -suffering, suffering, suffering, suffering...

    Is this helpful?

    Plucino☮ said on Jan 5, 2009 | 2 feedbacks

  • 2 people find this helpful

    Best book I read this year, and I read over 30 each year. Throughout the narration one forgets it is not fiction but a true story.

    Is this helpful?

    Antonella Mauri said on Dec 7, 2007 | 1 feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    Perhaps one of the top ten book writen in the last decade! I loved every page.

    Is this helpful?

    Marisa said on Feb 25, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • Le vacanze sono finite

    ed io non sono riuscito a finirlo, mi mancavano ancora circa 150 pagine e...mi sono stufato.

    Is this helpful?

    fakinum said on Dec 9, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • Bello, emozionante....alcune parti lasciano senza parole.
    Fa sorridere, piangere e riflettere.
    Per chi è stato in India e conosce un pò Bombay è un tuffo al cuore!

    Is this helpful?

    Angi said on Dec 7, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

Book Details

Improve data of this book

Prices Change currency & sellers

ISBN Edition List Sale Seller
9780312330538 Paperback $14.99 $10.79 bn.com
-- $9.99 ebooks.com
$14.99 $10.24 The Book Depository
Other editions →
+ 5 copies tradable: →
Added to Shelf Added to Wish List

Inline Translation Mode

Left click to navigate, right click to translate.

inline translation guide

or close

Inline translation is not ready for this page yet.

Inline translation mode.

Share this page with your friends.

The viewport has not loaded.