Reddit reviews Shantaram: A Novel

Shantaram

I hate to sound like a salesman, but this book has everything. It's a fugitive tale, a love story, an insight into the author's mind, a philosophical treatise, a war novel, an ode to India, and more. I've never read a book that had so much to give and so much to say. Brilliant.

As funny as it is tragic, as sentimental as it is harshly realist.

Shantaram. Absolutely immersive.

Mumbai/Bombay is a slightly intimidating place for even the most rugged travellers. It can seem more if this is your first trip to India.
However, it still is one of the most amazing cities I have been to. It comes close to bringing the vastness of indian culture to one place, so forgive it when the chaos and the asymmetry get to you. Shantaram will enhance your understanding of the place a bit.


What are your plans though? Where all? How long?

If you haven't read it, check out The Count of Monte Cristo too. It's another of those books that makes you understand why certain art is called great.

Also, in case you haven't read it, check out Shantaram. A classic across the world--and barely apparently known in the U.S.

If you're into India and amazing stories from jail you should read Shantaram. I read it several times!

And I agree with 'On the Road' as least favorite!

Try Shantaram - it is a fictionalized memoir about an escaped Australian convict that travels to (and through) India, mixing with peoples ranging from the destitute, the criminal, and the famous along with mixing with a varying cast of other ex-pats.

I have never read anything else quite like it and I feel like it really captures the essence of its location very well.

Trenutno citam:

• Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
  
• Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy (Josef Steiff)
  
  Planiram i citati:
  
  
• Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
  
• Het Achterhuis (Anne Frank)
  
• Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
  
• Pyongyang (Guy Delisle)
  
• I bilo njesta od Alan Watts
  
  Evo moj 'library' :P
  http://i.imgur.com/Xpe7Vk5.jpg
  
  Moj tip za vas je Shantaram. //switch to English now, because it's a lot easier. It's about a guy who escapes from a prison and goes to Bombay. He starts off low and grows both spiritually and materialistically in the streets of Bombay. It's like GTA: Bombay but with more places (Indian countryside, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa). I've already been interested in India because of films like Darjeeling Limited, but this book sealed the deal: I want to visit that country.

Try Shantaram.

Guy escapes from an Australian prison to India. Story details the whole process of becoming familiar with a completely foreign culture.


Amazon

I think Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts might be what you're looking for. I usually read fantasy also but I've never been sucked into a novel like Shantaram... truly a special book.

If that doesn't sound like your thing, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho gets suggested in the sub a lot, its also very good.

If she enjoys reading at all, get her a copy of this book. It's intimidatingly big for non-readers, but every line is poetry. It made me want to visit India- not the rich, luxurious parts, but the slums, the dirty parts with real people.

Reading this, I was reminded of a passage from one of my favorite books (Shantaram):

> Justice is a judgement that is both fair and forgiving. Justice is not done until everyone is satisfied, even those who offend us and must be punished by us. You can see, by what we have done with these two boys, that justice is not only the way we punish those who do wrong. It is also the way we try to save them.

For a quick read: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Great story, hilarious, lots of layers, if you want to go looking for them. Fun read even if not.

Two excellent novels that you might identify with. Both long, but fantastic:

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes. Novel about a young officer in the Vietnam war (around your age), based on the author's experiences. Great book, long, but very engaging and entertaining read.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts: Just go to the amazon page, can't do it justice here, fantastic book.

A cool part about these is that each could be considered a "Roman a clef" (should be some accents there), at least loosely, as both are based to some degree on actual events in the author's lives. Though liberties are certainly taken, still neat to remember.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Shantaram.

This book about the Mumbai(Bombay) criminal world from a Westerners perspective/involvement. Great read. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537

Shantaram by Gregory David

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts (http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265074018&sr=8-1) - the best book i've ever read and more than likely will ever read.

I'm going to go with Shantaram. Probably one of my all time favorite books, has some of the most beautiful prose ever committed to paper. I'm not really sure why it isn't more well known. Those who have read it seem to gush about it.

Shantaram

http://www.amazon.com/Shantaram-Novel-Gregory-David-Roberts/dp/0312330537/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1322162176&sr=8-1