Shantaram

Product Details

Author : Gregory David Roberts
Binding : Paperback
EAN : 9780349117546
Edition : New edition
Number of Pages : 944
Product Group : Book
Publication Date : 2005-03-24
Publisher : Abacus
Release Date : 2005-03-24

ASIN : 0349117543

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Editorial Reviews

Review

* 'Powerful and original ... a remarkable achievement' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH * 'Extraordinarily vivid ... a gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga' DAILY MAIL * 'A publishing phenomenon' SUNDAY TIMES * 'Vivid and compassionate ... impressive' GUARDIAN At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision' Time Out

Sunday Telegraph

'Powerful and original ... a remarkable achievement'

Pat Conroy

'A novel of the first order, a work of extraordinary art, a thing of exceptional beauty'

Daily Mail

'A gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga ... of one man's quest to untangle right from wrong ... extraordinarily vivid'

Ben Fogle, THE TIMES

'One of the most exciting books I have read . . . extraordinary'

Product Description

In 1978, gifted student and writer Greg Roberts turned to heroin when his marriage collapsed, feeding his addiction with a string of robberies. Caught and convicted, he was given a nineteen-year sentence. After two years, he escaped from a maximum- security prison, spending the next ten years on the run as Australia's most wanted man. Hiding in Bombay, he established a medical clinic for slum- dwellers, worked in the Bollywood film industry and served time in the notorious Arthur Road prison. He was recruited by one of the most charismatic branches of the Bombay mafia for whom he worked as a forger, counterfeiter, and smuggler, and fought alongside a unit of mujaheddin guerrilla fighters in Afghanistan. His debut novel, SHANTARAM, is based on this ten-year period of his life in Bombay. The result is an epic tale of slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison torture, mafia gang wars and Bollywood films. A gripping adventure story, SHANTARAM is also a superbly written meditation on good and evil and an authentic evocation of Bombay life.

Synopsis

In 1978, gifted student and writer Greg Roberts turned to heroin when his marriage collapsed, feeding his addiction with a string of robberies. Caught and convicted, he was given a nineteen-year sentence. After two years, he escaped from a maximum- security prison, spending the next ten years on the run as Australia's most wanted man. Hiding in Bombay, he established a medical clinic for slum- dwellers, worked in the Bollywood film industry and served time in the notorious Arthur Road prison. He was recruited by one of the most charismatic branches of the Bombay mafia for whom he worked as a forger, counterfeiter, and smuggler, and fought alongside a unit of mujaheddin guerrilla fighters in Afghanistan. His debut novel, SHANTARAM, is based on this ten-year period of his life in Bombay. The result is an epic tale of slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison torture, mafia gang wars and Bollywood films. A gripping adventure story, SHANTARAM is also a superbly written meditation on good and evil and an authentic evocation of Bombay life.

About the Author

Greg Roberts was born in Melbourne. He speaks four languages and has travelled widely in Asia, Africa and Europe. He is now a full-time writer.

Customer Reviews

Shantaram (2008-09-01)

ive never experienced with any other book ive read the nowed cliched phrase "unput-downable" but with shantaram it redefines this term. you actually cant stop reading it or waiting until the next time you open the pages again.i dont understand how other reviewers have called this book "tripe", were they reading a different book to me? becasue i found it nothing of the sort, and would recommend, as i have already, this book to anyone who wants to have a proper good read.

I perservered (2008-08-31)

There were many occasions when I just wanted to give up on this tripe but I perservered in the hope that this book would get better but alas it didn't and I feel that I wasted my time. The prose is so sickly I was nearly reaching for the sick bucket. How any man could love Karla is beyond me, a cold, calculating and manipulative woman. Indeed the only character who was remotely likeable was Prabaker.I am also surprised that the author, who constantly reminds us of just how intellectual he is, could be taken in by the despicable Khader Khan. This man was depicted as a great philosopher when in fact he was a criminal with no moral integrity whatsoever. As for the author, well perhaps he should take some lessons in the art of modesty. I just couldn't warm to him and found myself not really caring what happened to him in the end. All in all a very disapointing read.

Trying to impress (2008-08-03)

An amazing epic journey that had me wanting to read on. But what a horrible, vile man, a bit too up himself and trying a bit too hard to impress with his descriptions - think he's after an award. If I read one more time about someone's eyes being the colour of sand held in your hand as the sun sets over the desert or some such, I think I'd scream. And what is 'sorrowing' and 'hungering'? Get over yourself, man! Maybe children in school should have to read this as part of an anti-drugs programme - don't do heroin or you'll turn into an eejit like this. The people and the places and the adventures are amazing and worth reading for that but I don't think it'll do much for the Indian tourist industry. All in all, read it but borrow someone else's copy.

Read this one (2008-07-26)

Not only is this story fascinating, fast paced and emotional, but the quality of the writing is second to none. To be honest I was expecting the 'escaped con' to recollect numerous anecdotes demonstrating how rough, tough and street-wise he is; what I didn't expect was what I actually read - a genuine passion for the people of India and a compelling love story, mixed with the violence, loyalty and betrayal of organised crime. I was impressed by the author's humility and compassion, and also by his honesty about the drug trade and criminal network within which he became established. His characters are alive, complex and unique, and he could have written this book with a dozen different endings. It's easy to forget that this is a true story (perhaps not of all of it is), but is an incredible read and his memories of India and Afghanistan will stay with me for a long long time.

A great yarn but......... (2008-07-24)

I have mixed views on this book. It is a great read, I loved the descriptions of India and it's people. I found the character descriptions very touching especially those of the people who lived in the rural villages and in the slums. However, half way through I kept saying 'this can't have happened...., he couldn't have survived that' Some of the story seemed so fantastic and hard to believe, the near death experiences, the fight scenes, the survival in the mountains of Afghanistan. Like other readers mentioned, the author does not know the meaning of the word 'modest'. I ended up disliking him which really took from my enjoyment of the book. He really painted himself as a heroic, self-righteous, man of the people. I think he would have endeared himself to the reader if he had been more humble.

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