Shantaram - (an epic by Gregory David Roberts)

[nobby58]

This is my first recommendation, I hope it's a book that people will enjoy. I certainly couldn't put it down. The author, Gregory David Roberts, is a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from an Australian Prison and fled to India where he lived for 10 years.

Shantaram is apparently loosely based on the experiences of the author, however the book is fictional.

The book is mainly set in India and explores the life of the main character, "Lin" (an escaped Australian bank robber and drug addict!) To me it is an adventure story that is detailed and fast paced.

There are plenty of reviews of Shantaram on Amazon - ( http://amzn.to/gN0OYw ) or check out the authors website, ( http://www.shantaram.com/ )

The book is long, a real epic - but certainly worth a read.

[elemenoP]

Oh, I've heard of this book before and I always thought (just based on the title) that it was a fantasy novel!! I was totally wrong. Will have to check it out.

eP

[orlok]

This is a wonderful novel - fact and fiction interwoven, though mostly fiction, I think

[JaneD]

I really loved this book. It was terrifying, heartbreaking, inspiring - with great characters. I remember actually going to the author's website to see if it was a true-life story, because every page had the ring of truth to it.

Great recommendation, nobby58!

[philandjan]

According to my son, who has travelled extensively in India, this is an essential read for anybody visiting the country.

[Dr. Drib]

See here for further comments on Shantaram:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=Shantaram



Don

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by nobby58

This is my first recommendation, I hope it's a book that people will enjoy. I certainly couldn't put it down. The author, Gregory David Roberts, is a convicted Australian bank robber and heroin addict who escaped from an Australian Prison and fled to India where he lived for 10 years.

Shantaram is apparently loosely based on the experiences of the author, however the book is fictional.

The book is mainly set in India and explores the life of the main character, "Lin" (an escaped Australian bank robber and drug addict!) To me it is an adventure story that is detailed and fast paced.

There are plenty of reviews of Shantaram on Amazon - ( http://amzn.to/gN0OYw ) or check out the authors website, ( http://www.shantaram.com/ )

The book is long, a real epic - but certainly worth a read.

this is one of my all-time favorite novels. I've read it twice now as well as grabbed the Audible version, unabridged of course. Some might find the story a bit too much but I love the way it explored the evolution of an individual and how circumstances can conspire for and against you. Excellent recommendation!

[nobby58]

See here for further comments on Shantaram:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ight=Shantaram

Hey, sorry I doubled up - I did a search, but obviously I didn't search well enough! Anyway, I still think it's one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

By the way, there is a sequel due - probably later this year..... the following from Gregory David Roberts web site.

"I’m just about to enter the last phase of work on the new novel, the sequel the Shantaram. That should take me about 5 months of intensive writing and editing, 7 days a week, and should allow me to have the new book in the hands of publishers by mid-year."

[snipenekkid]

I don't know how long it's been on the site but over on http://www.shantaram.com/ the author mentioned he is working on a sequel as well. I don't wanna offer any spoilers but I sure liked how Shantram ended. It was just right and not entirely certain a sequel is needed. Sometimes I think publishers convince authors to visit the well too often and can diminish the significance of the original novel.

Then again they might want the sequel in order to create a more sanitized movie from the original book. I suspect few studios really would take a script as close to Shantram even though the rumor of a movie has been kicking around for a long time now. But since it would almost have to be a large studio to take on a project of this size, it's going to be expensive to make this movie, so studios are going to need to dumb down and sanitize the thing in an attempt to appeal to enough people. Now I loved the movie adaptation of Lawrence of Arabia but I have concern they would try and turn Shantaram into that sort of "feel good" movie, thus taken away the very sympathetic yet dark nature of Lin and the book in general.

And a sequel might be needed to get a studio to really consider the project. Plus the movie would been to be at least 3.5hrs long to do it justice and take a couple years to shoot. That would be a hard sell. I rather think a Showtime series would be a much better option with say 3-4 two-hour episodes. Even a Masterpiece Theater/BBC mini-series might be better but that would likely be even further sanitized and tamed compared to the novel. But I do think that Showtime, maybe HBO but they don't seem to be able to deliver the best mini-series these days and of the couple the have over the past few years they just have been milked. And last thing I want to see is yet another series as tedious as "Big Love"...awk!

Addition: I just noticed this document on the Shantaram site by the author discussion his process for writing Shantaram http://www.shantaram.com/pages/Shant...ecture2010.pdf I gave it just a cursory gloss over and it seems interesting and but also might contain too many plot spoilers for some people. It might be better read by people who have already completed the novel. I am one to not want to know too much about a novel before I begin reading it. So "buyer beware",

[snipenekkid]

Originally Posted by nobby58

Hey, sorry I doubled up - I did a search, but obviously I didn't search well enough! Anyway, I still think it's one of the best books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

By the way, there is a sequel due - probably later this year..... the following from Gregory David Roberts web site.

"I’m just about to enter the last phase of work on the new novel, the sequel the Shantaram. That should take me about 5 months of intensive writing and editing, 7 days a week, and should allow me to have the new book in the hands of publishers by mid-year."

I don't think there is any reason not to further that discussion here. But it does show so much has been previously discussed on MR its the rare case where there has never been a discussion of great novels.

And, hey, people like the book. Its just so different and it sure drew me in pretty much from the beginning that I'll enjoy any discussion about Shantaram.

[nobby58]

And, hey, people like the book. Its just so different and it sure drew me in pretty much from the beginning that I'll enjoy any discussion about Shantaram.

It does seem people like the book. I'll be very interested to see how the sequel pans out.