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Loading... Shantaram: A Novelby Gregory David Roberts
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. I had heard a lot about this book before I started reading it. I was told that I'd love it. I hated it. I could not wait to finish it. The whole story (despite being supposedly true) is completely unbelievable. I could not understand the motivations of the main character, why he got caught up in the things he did. I can't figure out if he was just stupid or foolhardy, but by midway through the book I didn't care what happened to him. (  ) sharonlflynn | Dec 29, 2009 |  Fascinating, engrossing read! Based on true events in the author's life, although the characters are fictional. Recommended when you have some time to kill, you won't want to be putting it down and it is a LONG book! (  ) MandieZ | Dec 26, 2009 | I just finished this book and I am not sure how I feel about it. The author's descriptive passages, particularly about Bombay, which figures as the central character in the book, are skilled. His pace and plotting are sound, if a bit contrived. I thought some of the dialogue, particularly that in which the narrator figures, was clunky and not persuasive - do people really speak that way?. The author seems infatuated with the narrator - perhaps not surprising given the autobiographical nature of the book. But there is a sense of narcissism. I also felt some of the story elements were trite - the mysterious beautiful woman with whom the narrator falls in love at first sight, was not convincing. The devotion to the father figure was another problem for me. Perhaps these issues arose because of the first person narration. With a third person narrator the reader isn't spoon fed the narrator's hopes, convictions, fears and motivations the way we were in this book. It felt obvious in some ways. There was also, I felt, a curious tone deafness with respect to the criminal activities in which the narrator engages, with no self scrutiny really apparent. Having said all that, it does work as a portrayal of a place most alien. It puts me in mind of Perdido Street Station or some of Dickens' work in which London seems to be a character. 1  kokipy | Dec 20, 2009 | I finished this book about 3-4 months ago, so this is written from memory. Shantaram is one of those fascinating reads that come along every so often, like Shogun or True History of the Kelly Gang, that brings to life an unfamiliar setting and series of events, many of them shocking to the ordinary reader. Since the book is written in the first person, it's difficult not to make judgments about the author: is his autobiograpy accurate, are the events real, or is the entire book a work of fiction, as it purports to be? Since the narrator admits participation in many acts constituting serious felonies, it's easy to assume that the history is real. Like OJ's, If I Did It, the impression is created that the author is simply claiming fiction to avoid prosecution, and the history is true and probably even sanitized. While the author's grip on the written language is a bit shaky he definitely has a talent for suspense and the book is a real page turner. The characters are so well drawn that the reader becomes deeply invested in their well being and this, together with the style, makes it compelling to read this book without interruption despite its length. In the end though, one can't help but divorce the fiction from the fact: as fiction the book is a great read, entertaining throughout; as autobiography its just another con trying to avoid personal responsible for some seriously antisocial behavior. (  ) terbby | Nov 28, 2009 | This is one of the best books I have ever read. I can't believe that this is loosely based on the authors experiences. Only an individual who has gone through as much as he has could produce a work like this. A rich and detailed glimpse into the ghettos of Bombay, that has you falling in love with the characters. I wish this book could have gone on for twice the length that it did. Good right to the last page! ( ) trinibaby9 | Nov 24, 2009 |  no reviews | add a review
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| Book description |
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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
(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:32:14 -0500)
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