Shantaram: A Novel

Gregory David Roberts

Oct 2004 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

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“It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured.”

An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.

As a hunted man without a home, family, or identity, Lin searches for love and meaning while running a clinic in one of the city’s poorest slums, and serving his apprenticeship in the dark arts of the Bombay mafia. The search leads him to war, prison torture, murder, and a series of enigmatic and bloody betrayals. The keys to unlock the mysteries and intrigues that bind Lin are held by two people. The first is Khader Khan: mafia godfather, criminal-philosopher-saint, and mentor to Lin in the underworld of the Golden City. The second is Karla: elusive, dangerous, and beautiful, whose passions are driven by secrets that torment her and yet give her a terrible power.

Burning slums and five-star hotels, romantic love and prison agonies, criminal wars and Bollywood films, spiritual gurus and mujaheddin guerrillas—this huge novel has the world of human experience in its reach, and a passionate love for India at its heart.

Ratings and reviews

Shantaram is the definition of great literature. The telling of a story with characters you care about, twists and turns, laughter and heart break, all told in beautiful poetry and prose. Intelligent conversation and passionate loves amongst danger and adventure held my attention throughout the many pages and I only wished for more at the end. The author's effortless detailed descriptions of people and scenes of India had me feeling as though I have traveled there and I look forward to his second continuation.

While his writing style is extremely wordy, the story was incredible and very well written. Looking forward to " The Mountain Shadow" which has been patiently waiting on the shelf for me to finish "Shantaram."

What a fascinating and amazingly well told story. Full of love, philosophy, sorrow and the wisdom that we gain by surviving our choices. Yes it's a long book, I loved every bit of it.

About the author

Gregory David Roberts, the author of Shantaram and its sequel, The Mountain Shadow, was born in Melbourne, Australia. Sentenced to nineteen years in prison for a series of armed robberies, he escaped and spent ten of his fugitive years in Bombay—where he established a free medical clinic for slum-dwellers, and worked as a counterfeiter, smuggler, gunrunner, and street soldier for a branch of the Bombay mafia. Recaptured, he served out his sentence, and established a successful multimedia company upon his release. Roberts is now a full-time writer and lives in Bombay.