Shantaram: A review
Book - Shantaram: A novel
Author - Gregory David Roberts
Rating - 
There are classics and then there are classics. And when all classification of classics is complete, remain the books, that will never be elevated to the status of classics, but are just too damned unputdownable to ignore!
“Shantaram: A Novel” is one such book! 936 pages of pure, unadulterated masala, crime, philosophy, friendship, love and betrayal… with a liberal dash of self-aggrandization thrown in for good measure!
Gregory David Roberts, an Australian fugitive on the run, lands in Bombay with an assumed name of Lindsay and instantly falls in love with the city as he encounters one interesting character after another… starting with his sidekick, Prabaker, the ever-smiling tourist guide who immediately christens him as ‘Lin’ or ‘Linbaba’ (because, he feels Lindsay is too big to be an Indian name). As the novel progresses, we’re introduced to Karla, the woman who Lin loves (and who claims to just ‘like’ Lin)… Abdullah Taheri, the Iranian-fighter-turned-mafia-strongarm with whom Lin shares a brotherly kinship… Didier, the flamboyantly gay Frenchman who loves his drinks and his one-liners… Abdul Khader Khan, the wise old mafia don who is like a father to Lin. There are many more people of course… many more! Each one of them, carefully fleshed out… lending them multi-dimensional personalities and not making them appear merely as flat caricatures.
The story moves ahead as Lin shifts his accommodation from a lodge to a slum (where he starts a free clinic) to a village in interior Maharashtra. It is there, in the village called Sunder that Prabaker’s mother christens Lin with an Indian name, ‘Shantaram’. Lin likes the slums, which he thinks have lots of virtues inspite (or because?) of the poverty. And he enjoys working selflessly in the slums, while on the other hand he comes into contact with some of the most powerful men in the Bombay underworld.
The story takes a sudden turn when Lin gets arrested by the police and is sent to the Arthur Road prison where the viciousness of the ruthless convict guards nearly costs him his life. After this prison term, Lin plunges into the Bombay underworld, with the blessings of Abdul Khader Khan, as he gets trained in various disciplines of black marketing, counterfeiting and smuggling.
And the excitement, surprises and twists continue unabated as the scene shifts from Bombay to Afghanistan where Lin and his mafia masters travel to supply weapons to the Mujahideen.
Roberts wields his pen with a flourish as he sketches an extremely detailed account of his experiences as a fugitive, masked with a some colourful and very exciting fiction. The result is an entertaining potboiler that is an autobiography, a travelogue, a love story and an adventure all rolled into one. And that may not agree with the palates of the connoisseurs but its sure to excite the tastebuds of just about everyone else!
This book reads like a Bollywood caper… with larger than life characters and events. Yet the emotions expressed by the Roberts are very real and touch a chord in us, somewhere… even though at times he can be guilty of excessive verbosity. But that does not detract from the impressive scope of the story and the deft handling of even the most minute details. The characterizations, as I’ve already mentioned, are excellent. The background action gives a great flavour of the political and social environment of the time the novel is set in. Perhaps, the most significant part of this novel was a look at Bombay like few have ever attempted before. In short, a fantastic piece of achievement by Gregory David Roberts… which is made even more significant when you consider the fact that two drafts of this novel were destroyed by prison guards when Roberts was incarcerated in prison.
If you thought that 936 pages was long, hold on to your horses! Roberts plans to bring out a sequel soon. And now that my appetite has been whetted by ‘Shantaram’, I can’t wait for the sequel to hit the stands! But we will have to wait over a year for that.
Now that you’ve read this review, I’d recommend that you try to find a copy of this book and read about the amazing adventures of Linbaba!!
20 comments
Well put, Shantaram is one good read. One of the best things about the book is the very indifferent style of self awareness given by the author. It might not hit you instantly, but with 900+ pages, its not long before you enjoy it. Also, as said the plot is rather jumpy which reminds me of pulp if not for the soci-political satire taht pops in often.
The news of the sequel is good, really good. Nice choice BTW : )
hi,
first time here
nice review…kinda tingled my interests…will try to hunt the book down.
esp since its set in my fav city in India :D
Aayush >> Thanks. Yes, its a great read! Its a storyline that lends itself so very well to a movie screenplay! … full of action! :)
Angelsera >> Welcome! :) … one of the reasons I loved the book was that it’s set in my favourite city too! :)
Hi, Just found out about your Bloggers Meets. Do check out mbm.rediffblogs.com
There’s an MBM happening tomorrow (Saturday)
Cheers
Prats
My favourite book in a 49 year life of many books - un-put-downable, and has whet my appetite for more from Greg Roberts. I really want a sequel, just so I can find out what happened when Roberts was eventually re-captured and completed his jail sentence.
gemma>> its a great read, yes! and believe the sequel is going to be a whopper too!
I am thriled the way u all have expressed things through the short review.Its great to see a man imerge on the right track after so many ups and downs in life . I think it will help me overcome my problems in life . i would like to congratulate the author for this and hope that god gives him the best now for his future life
Love & Luck
Nitesh
Yup
you’re all right!!! it is one of the most rocking books that have come out off late.The way gregory has skethched the charaters is beutiful and the fact that so much has happened to some one living is like a motivation for the readers that life comes with it’s share of ups and downs!!!!
The sequel is gonna be worth the wait I guess..
cheers all..
Hi There,
I am reading Shantaram as we speak and am frankly not that impressed. I don’t like the way he writes and tries to lend credibility and dignity to everything messed up in society. From drug use to prostution and smuggling, Roberts tries to justify everything by hinting that we have no choice in the matter.
It’s like he exists in an existential vaccum with very little or no choice at all. I live and work in Mumbai but choose to associate with the hard working middle class who are non existant in his book.
To me Shantaram is more about the bravado of an ex-con and less about a man who is forced by his circumstances. People make new beginnings all the time without getting caught up in illicit sub-cultures. Roberts made bad choices and wrote about them, whats the literary accomplishment in that?
a lovely, adventurous book. Real good book to practice visualisation. The paper back depiction to the real life character depiction, each and every detail has been captured vividly. Simple words, beautiful picturisation.
Never know, when we reach the END OF THE BOOK (936 pages in all, that is all).
classic all the way .lovely characterization its heartening to know a foreigner sharing the same love for our motherland as any patriot indian would i.e he loves the country for what it is with all its filth included. An intresting exerpt from the book is his conversation with a taxi driver bugging him where he tells him in chaste Marathi to bother some other gora instead of a Indian like him.waiting for his sequel hoping he won’t dissapoint us
This book grabbed me from the first paragraph. I also found the writing style a bit annoying sometimes, but the writer is obviously intelligent and well-read. All of the violence seems to have gone from him - he exudes a sort of calm charisma. ( Ihad a very long coffee and chat with him in St Kilda back in Nov. 2003) - everyone seemed to know him. I hope they make a decent film to do it justice. I sell first editions of this book sometimes on ebay, so if you want one check it out. (donwoollard@hotmail.com)
A great read that is so hard to put down. Lins adventures are inspirational especially since in reality he has led such a colourful life
Osman, sydney Australia
Shantaram,without doubt is the most fascinating,intriguing and adventurous books that has ever been written in an autobiographical form.I have to say,that i have been captured in Ln’s world until today.I cannot escape from it-such is the power of this wroter.He is a survivor-he is a likeable guy,and one of the most fascinating charachters himself.The People in the book,breathe life gradually and enter your mind,and you read the book as you watch their life in your mind.
He is like a Guru!
Was given the book while recovering from bad accident in Cambodia.
Read it 3 times, great book, great story.
allowed me to escape from the mess my body was in and free my mind to sail away.
If you have been to BB in the last 20 years you’ll be instantly sent back
well recommended
Shantaram is an interesting story told terribly. There are long, pedestrian, and snore-inducing philosophical passages that should have been cut — probably should never have been written. The characters are all cardboard cutouts defined by their clothes or their eye-color. And the prose . . . my god, the prose. Gregory David Roberts writes as though he’s taken all his stylistic cues from the lyrics book of a U2 album. It’s sub-romance drek.
The book is so full of self-love and the author so unaware of his own inability to carry off a metaphor without embarassing himself that he really loses what could have been a pretty good book in the details. I read the whole thing because I had to, but you couldn’t pay me to read it again.
This book grabbed me from the first paragraph.
Your review brought back memories of my own reading of Shantaram while in Mumbai during 2007. Once I picked it up, it was just a few days before reaching the end. In particular, I enjoyed the reference to and description of various locations around the city, as I came to know these areas during my stay. My experiences in Mumbai made the reading of Shantaram even more engaging.
Awful book, full of laughable purple prose (the description of Lin and Karla making love for the first time is hilariously embarrassing) and ridiculous, self important philosophising.
Lin is some lind of cross between Rambo and Mother Teresa whose introspection and self-pity are a bit hard to swallow when compared to the real hardship that many slum dwellers suffer.
The most ridiculous character is Karla, a woman who is reduced to cold, secretive green eyed beauty who spouts pearls of wisdom for every ocassion. Khanderbhai is an out-and-out amoral sociopath and Prabaker is like a bad colonial caricature form the 1950s.
If the book had been confined to a 300 page novel about organised crime in India, it would be a thrilling read, instead it drowns in tedious moralising and navel gazing.
Honestly, I could not get through the book. I have met Lin in Goa, with the beautiful Indo-German woman called Ranjana, way back in 1987 or 1988. he calims to be a song-writer & guitarist too. so He is an extremely intelligent man who knows Mumbai and knows the ingredients of a best seller. But I found the book patronising. I think he’s tried to recapture the “City of Joy” spirit. But yes he has led a pretty wild life and it makes a good story.
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