Customer Reviews

Shantaram (Spanish) (Spanish Edition)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I was ambivalent about rating this book, because I actually enjoyed it very much. On the storytelling alone I would give it 4 stars. Gregory David Roberts' autobiographical novel kept me up late many nights - he certainly has led an unconventional and exciting life on the run in India. My favorite parts of the book were the relationships he had with the slum dwellers, Prabaker in particular. He captured the cadences of their speech perfectly, with humor and deep compassion. On this alone I would give the book 5 stars. However, I had a problem with Karla. I grew tired of the myriad descriptions of her green eyes - the prose was flowery and hard to swallow. And the descriptions of their lovemaking would have been funny were he not so earnest in his quest to be poetic. Just a few too many metaphors and adjectives for me. Karla herself evoked very little sympathy from me, even when the Great Mysterious Secret about her was revealed. To me she was selfish and shallow and not worth the adoration of Lin, the main character. I did not find her so-called clever turns of phrase to be so wise; rather I found them to be the cynical observations of a ruined and bitter woman. There were no ugly women in this book, or even plain women. I guess it is a credit to the author/main character that he finds drop-dead beauty in every woman he meets!
Having gotten that out of the way, let me say the author has done a remarkable job of bringing Bombay to the lay person. He tells of a lush, vibrant city that teems with fascinating characters (Karla aside) and the lessons it has taught him. I am planning a trip there soon; the book has enriched my enduring fascination with India. It is also a story of redemption, and you will have to read it yourself to discover what I mean. There is so much more I could say but I don't want to bore anyone. This is not high literature. But who cares? It is a grand read if you can get past the deep green, dusk-lit lagoons in the swirling maelstrom of Karla's bodacious haunted eyes...

I came to Shantaram through the recommendation of a friend after I expressed joy from reading Suketu Mehta's Maximum City: Bombay Lost and Found - a thrilling non-fiction account of modern Bombay's underworld.

Shantaram didn't disappoint. Since it's a 900+ pager, I was engaged with it for several weeks. It so deeply absorbed me I began to feel pangs of sorrow as I approached its end. The universe this book creates was one of only a handful that this voracious reader was terribly saddened to leave at the book's conclusion.

The book covers so many issues in loving detail: Bombay, Asia, the expatriate experience, poverty, crime, heroin addiction, love, betrayal, redemption. I'd love to see Shantaram nominated as a "classic" and read by high school and college students instead of non-starters like Wuthering Heights and The Scarlet Letter. Love learned and lost amongst poverty, crime and deception is love, nevertheless.

I can't wait until the Mira Nair/Johnny Depp film version of the book is released in 2008(?)!

Read, better yet, experience this book--more than once I was moved to tears. I was filled with gratitude at the author's sharing of his soul with me.

My friend asked a favor, "could you please read the first 4 pages and tell me if this book is any good". I was hooked after page two! The descriptions are so vivid, it transports you into the loving arms of an exciting, seedy, complex, Indian slum underworld. Fugitives, listen up cause the author describes in detail how to escape from a maximum security prison, forge a passport, trade currency in the black market, and bribe government officials.

Excellent stories, an amazing life. I lost some of the meaning in the never-ending, blockbusterness of it all, but appreciated it all the same.

The first time that I came across Shantaram in a bookstore I was put off by its length. It is over 900 pages long and it is heavy. However I had heard good things about it and decided to give it a go. I am so glad that I did, because this is one of the best books that I have ever read. Even though it's long, it is gripping and easy to read. It was one of those books that you carry round with you so that you can read a page here and a page there and you never want to put it down.

The story is based on the real life adventures of the author, Gregory David Roberts. As the book begins, he has escaped from prison in Australia and made his way to India. Later on we find out more about how he broke out from prison but it's testament to how enthralling the story is that this is not the most eventful part of the book. When he arrives in Mumbai (Bombay) he quickly immerses himself into the city, befriending the locals, learning the languages and even living in a slum. He also befriends a local mafioso and is drawn into the Indian crime world. The story twists and turns and would be unbelievable if it wasn't based so much on fact. Gun runners in Afghanistan, high class prostitutes, Bollywood movie sets and grim Indian prisons all make their appearances. It's a fascinating, suspenseful and exciting book.

Roberts has a gift for writing. He really captures the flavor of India - the smells, the sounds, the colors. After reading this book I felt like jumping on a plane to Mumbai and heading straight to Leopold's for a drink. Instead I settled for recommending it to all my friends, and despite the very different genres that they usually read, they have all loved it also. It's that kind of book. Don't miss it.

India, the people, the culture, the country, the history, is all of keen interest to me. This amazing book not only has a compelling addictive story line about how a fugitive escapes jail in Australia to arrive in Bombay, live in the slums, befriend the local people, become engrossed in country and find a mentor in an India mafia don, but also provides some key insights into the amazing people and wealth of culture of which India comprises.

The book is written in such a manner the reader is immediately immersed in the story, to the point where all the senses are witnessing the hot muggy stifling streets of Bombay, the claustrophobia & loneliness experienced in prison & the adrenalin rush and desperation whilst in Afghanistan.

At the same time, Shantaram portrays compassion and love from people with only basic essentials to survive can give an 'outsider' in a time of need.

A must read.

I have read all the great classics, from crime & punishment to war & peace to gone with the wind, and I was very skeptical when I read the reviews of Shantaram and how people we're calling it a masterpiece. after reading it, I can honestly say that I have never read anything that kept me reading as much as Shantaram did. Shantaram is a literary masterpiece and Roberts is Da Vinci with a pen. I don't believe I will ever read anything that will top this one, I don't think it is even possible. the only writer who might be able to do it is Roberts himself. there probably is not one person alive today that can read this book and say that it didnt make them want to be inside those pages, living the lives of these characters. I give this book 10 stars out of 5.

If I had liked nothing except the writing in this book, I would have loved the book and recommended it to many friends. I was especially fascinated that construction companies 'build" a slum before they hire the workers for a big construction job. The workers families join them after the work begins. I guess my ignorant impression was that a slum was something that just happened, and not a community. Roberts writes beautifully, and Prabaker's happy English added greatly to my enjoyment of the book. I know the old expression "live and learn," but Shantaram invites you to "read and learn."

Both my husband and I each have our own copy. We read it together whenever we could. Every review I have read on this website is correct; even the representative quote from one gentleman. It is a must for every person who does actually think and feel-to seek more than their known possibilities. This author is magnificent in a fullness that isn't familiar. It is art in that the words perform beautifully to produce an inner landscape that I have never imagined before. Dreadful and delightful; full sensory descriptions that bore me not once and I'm a slow reader.