Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts

LillyVanilli

Have to say, Shantaram is one of the best books Ive ever read. I recommend it to everyone. Not even finished it, but counting down the minutes before I can get home to read the final 100 pages. Read it.

Tusky

lynners wrote: »

Have to say, Shantaram is one of the best books Ive ever read. I recommend it to everyone. Not even finished it, but counting down the minutes before I can get home to read the final 100 pages. Read it.

Sorry for dragging up an old post. I'm about 200 pages into this (Its 900 pages) and so far, its excellent. I cant put it down. Great stuff! Its being made into a movie with Johnny Depp playing the lead.

BurnsCarpenter

Thought yer man was pretty annoying at times. Very enjoyable read nonetheless.
Is there any sign of the sequel?

friend and foe

fantastic book... no sign of the sequel yet and production on the movie's been halted because of the writer's strike in hollywood... boo...

theCzar

Really great book, read it on the train to Mumbai. Thought it would last me the holiday but it was finished in days despite its prodigious size.

Some parts seemed a little too far fetched, and it ruined the "this really happened" aspect for me a little.

It was a very happy coincidence that my hotel in Mumbai ended up being literally beside the bar they always meet in at the start, its name has escaped me. The bar itself was a little disappointing, being basically just A.N. Other tourist bar and restaurant, I don't know what I was expecting though, mafioso gun fights maybe.

friend and foe

the bar they meet in at the start was Leopold's

Dades

Bought this book Friday after reading this thread.

Living up to it's promise so far. After a few recent literary misses, this seems just what I was looking for. Will take me a while though - I don't get as much time to read as I'd like.

AngryHippie

Read it about 12 months ago. Fantastic book,

If you haven't finsished it yet, stop reading now.....

Does the stuff in Afghanistan seem a little far out ther in the plausibility stakes ??? I mean, if this is all true, Greg Roberts has met some of the higher echelon leaders of the Mujaheddin now known as Al Qaeda, Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against them, or him, but This would make him one of the most closely placed writers to these people. If that is the case, surely he would have made more of an effort to explain their philosphies and formative

experiences ???

BurnsCarpenter

It's all a bit unclear as to what exactly is true and what's not.
It was actually published as a novel as opposed to an autobiography so I suspect there's a lot of exaggeration going on.

theCzar

@ AngryHippie

put

[/ spoiler] (without the space between / and 's') around spoiling text to grey it out so its invisibles to the innocents, you hightlight the grey text to read it.

like this:

see?

AngryHippie

Cheers Buddy,
Always wondered how to do that......

Still getting the hang of this dohickey, sorry if I ****ed a good book, but I didn't give much away.

AngryHippie

And the Karmic Circle is complete

Tusky

That was close, almost read the spoiler! I'm about 400 pages in at the moment and really liking it. The more I read, the less I believe though. It reads more like a novel than a biography...which is fine by me.

I would love to see pictures of some of the people in the book. Prabaker & Karla...anyone know of any ?

[edit] Just found an interview with him. Kinda disappointing.


Q. Which are the facts in the book and what is the fictional part?

A. A general rule of the thumb is that the events in the book are real; but they have been shuffled in the narrative and the characters are fictional. Praebakar and Karla are also fictional characters.

Maple

read it about a year ago. loved it, was a little far fetched by times for me to believe the actually happened blurb but overall a fantastic read.

mountainyman

Roberts is clearly a pathetic junkie who was given a cushy number in australia and absconded from work release.

The whole thing is crap. if you like this book you are stupid.


NONE OF IT HAPPENED

Roberts is a junkie fanasist

MM

theCzar

lol. Never an avatar more apt.

Respectively Yours,
Stupid.

Dades

mountainyman wrote: »

Roberts is clearly a pathetic junkie who was given a cushy number in australia and absconded from work release.

The whole thing is crap. if you like this book you are stupid.

NONE OF IT HAPPENED

Roberts is a junkie fanasist

MM

LOL (at, not with you).

Tusky

Just finished the book today, great read. It doesn't really matter what is true and what isn't, it works just as well as a novel and a work of fiction as it does a biography.

Highly recommended.

phaze

Heard an interview with Roberts about 3 years ago and, if he is to be believed, his life before the book begins was just as exciting! Loved the book - not the best written but the story is facinating and the characters suck you in. I didn't know there was a sequel due but I'm now looking forward to it!

Tusky

phaze wrote: »

Heard an interview with Roberts about 3 years ago and, if he is to be believed, his life before the book begins was just as exciting! Loved the book - not the best written but the story is facinating and the characters suck you in. I didn't know there was a sequel due but I'm now looking forward to it!

You didn't think it was well written ?

phaze

No, it took me a long time to get into it, I just didn't take to his style of writing. Can't give specifics, it was too long ago that I read it but as I said it was the story being told rather than the way in which it was told that held my attention. That still hasn't stopped me from passing my copy onto several friends! It's one book I readily recommend to people.

SpartanKiller

cool,my gf got me this for xmas,cant wait to read it,currently halfway through Stalingrad by Antony Beevor,was in india recently so hopefully should add to picture

phaze

Shantaram so made we want to experience India - no doubt you will enjoy it immensely!

Dades

Finally finished the book!

I care not what parts were true and what were fiction - that book deserves every good word said about it. An amazing piece of writing.

I'm off to pimp it to people who haven't read it.

Started it a while ago and nearly finished now. When I found out that a lot of it was actually made up I was disappointed as the success of the book is largely built on the fact that it's supposed to be the story of his life.
Then I looked into the author and stuff that he has said and to be honest he comes across as very annoying.
Finally there is far too much existentialist rambling going on in the book for my liking - the author tries to introduce aspects of different religions and philisophies in a haphazard pick-and-mix type way which to me fails horribly. So sad to say - not impressed at all despite some decent parts.

Dades

glasso wrote: »

Then I looked into the author and stuff that he has said and to be honest he comes across as very annoying.

It definitely seems that celebrity has gone to his head somewhat, reading interviews with him.

I decided from the outset to read the book as fiction though, so what happened or not in reality didn't bother me. I also decided not to read about the author before I finished the book - which in hindsight seems to have been the right thing to do!

Amazotheamazing

Just finished it, great read but very far fetched and the author really loves himself, despite his continual whining about how much he dislikes himself.

Spiritoftheseventies

Tusky wrote: »

Sorry for dragging up an old post. I'm about 200 pages into this (Its 900 pages) and so far, its excellent. I cant put it down. Great stuff! Its being made into a movie with Johnny Depp playing the lead.

yeah that film is taking absolutely ages to complete. Read that book two or three years. For the most part a great read but would have taken maybe 100 to 150 pages off it. Will make a point of going to see it when it comes out.

longshanks

this book could easily have been about 300 pages shorter, way too much shite along the lines of ...... i loved him as a father, yet felt betrayed, but still i loved him........ and also everyone he ever had a conversation with was speaking on a deep philosophical level. bollox to that. he comes across as an annoying cunt too.

Spiritoftheseventies

longshanks wrote: »

this book could easily have been about 300 pages shorter, way too much shite along the lines of ...... i loved him as a father, yet felt betrayed, but still i loved him........ and also everyone he ever had a conversation with was speaking on a deep philosophical level. bollox to that. he comes across as an annoying cunt too.

yeah he gives motivational speeches AFAIK. very full of himself by the looks of it. But a good tale for the most part

LiamMc

I saw him being interviewed before the book came out around 2000 or 2001. I could not believe the TV station (something like BBC World) were giving him airtime.

I know a friend that bought the book in 2003 at Dublin Airport as Holiday reading. He has not shut up about that book since," you don't understand this book could change your life!".

Blush_01

I really enjoyed it, thought it was very entertaining.

Diairist

I also thought it was brilliant. But would Gay Byrne have had a pleasant interview on late late show with him if he genuinely was a convicted murderer, chased by Interpol? Linsay (character) was but...

btw:

http://www.shantaram.com/

Quality

I am currently reading this book. (for the last few weeks!! Its a big read.) I am enjoying it, but find some of the philosophy in it a bit drawn out...

It does state that the book is based on his experiences... So I would presume from that, that it is 10% truth and 90% fiction.

I think he is a bit of a chancer!

theCzar

I'm fairly certain he's Australian. After that, its hazy.

Its a good book, fiction or otherwise and he wouldn't be the first writer to lie and call it the truth.

Papillion is pretty much 100% bull**** too but enjoyable for all that. The cheekiest was the "Based on a true Story" at the start of the Coen's "Fargo" when it was anything but. Do I need to talk about Dan Brown's grasp of reality?

Dades

theCzar wrote: »

Papillion is pretty much 100% bull**** too

What?!

theCzar

Well actually it depends who you believe. I take the cyncial "too amazing to be true" side of things. He was sent to French Guyana Its fairly certain that though that he never went to devils island and his escapes are pretty fanciful. There's nobody to refute or confirm a lot of escapades.

Great character nevertheless.

Reginald P. DuM

I enjoyed this read too. I knew going into it that it was all bull**** but it doesn't take from the pleasure of reading it. Some bits were stretched too far, the page count could have been a lot less, but I wouldn't have a problem recommending it.

IvyTheTerrible

Absolutely HATED this book. I could see a good story hidden somewhere but the author's massive ego ("Every single person in India LOVES me") and the adolescent philosophical rubbish just got in the way.

I think if a good editor had chopped this down by half it might have been a good yarn. And comparisons with Papillon are not warranted...even if half of Papillon wasn't true, it was well told, and it even managed to change French policy on prisons.

meditraitor

I rate this as the most enjoyable read of last year, its a great book to get lost in and I recommend it very highly ....
I can understand why some people dont like it but just like Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, 1984, catch 22 or even the de vinci code.... more people will like it than not;)

Valmont

meditraitor wrote: »

Hitchikers guide to the galaxy, 1984, catch 22 or even the de vinci code....

Spot the odd one out in this post.

dogbert27

Just picked up this thread and thought I was missing out on some fantastic book but looking at the comments I feel like I'd be reading "a million little pieces" again by James Frey.

minusorange

mountainyman wrote: »

Roberts is clearly a pathetic junkie who was given a cushy number in australia and absconded from work release.

The whole thing is crap. if you like this book you are stupid.


NONE OF IT HAPPENED

Roberts is a junkie fanasist

MM

What a horrible attitude.

Travel is good

I read both James Frey's books and Shantaram. I loved Shantaram, read it while travelling around Vietnam over 2 years ago. If you take it as a work of fiction, it is excellent. I know there was controversy over the James Frey books being factually inaccurate. However, I've read a lot of bad books in my time, & I would still recommend Shantaram, really good. I read the James Frey books when I visited the States a few years ago, and hadn't heard much about them here until about a year ago, through reports from the Oprah Winfrey show. They are still worth a read.

I would have to say that Shantaram is one of my favourite books of all time!

sexdwarf

I did enjoy this book for the most part but I felt that it was far far too drawn out and the last third really let it down. It was an interesting enough story but his arrogance and long drawn out philisophical conversations with Khaderbhai got really dull after a while.

Also his assertion through the whole book that he was now as much a local as the locals and how everyone in the slum adored him was a bit irritating.

There was one exchange with a taxi driver who thinks he's a tourist where he rabbits on about being a 'real' Indian that actually made me cringe.

ToxicPaddy

I found it an enjoyable read and as long as you dont start reading this book expecting too much from it you will probably find the same.

Definitely not the best book I've read and yes the writer does have a major ego and seriously talks himself up so I took it all with a pinch of salt, I think a lot of it is pure fiction but it was entertaining.

Its a long read but I enjoyed it.

Vim Fuego

Sorry for digging up an old post but here's my thoughts on it.

I really wish I hadn't bothered with Shantaram. The first half was tolerable enough but after 900 pages of pseudo-philosophy and very little in the way of an overarching plot, it really became a chore.

Maybe I'm just a bit too cynical for it, as plenty of people seem to absolutely love it and take a lot from reading it. Some of the writing is cringe-worthy as well, it reads like the author's hippy love letter to himself, given the fact that every single person he meets absolutely loves him at first glance.

I highlighted this bit on kindle because it just struck me as particularly woeful:

"I smoked in those days because, like everyone else in the world who smokes, I wanted to die at least as much as I wanted to live".

Puh-lease! The only enjoyment I got from this book was a lovely sense of Bombay, which I lived in as a child.