Shantaram
Now a major Apple TV+ series starring Charlie Hunnam
Published on 24. March 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
944 pages
978-0-349-11754-6 (ISBN)
Description
A novel of high adventure, great storytelling and moral purpose, based on an extraordinary true story of eight years in the Bombay underworld
'A literary masterpiece... at once erudite and intimate, reflective and funny... it has the grit and pace of a thriller' Daily Telegraph
'A publishing phenomenon' Sunday Times
'A gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga' Daily Mail
'In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australian prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street soldier. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fall in love, and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone thought he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan... Amazingly, Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. It's a profound tribute to his willpower... At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.' Time Out
'A literary masterpiece... at once erudite and intimate, reflective and funny... it has the grit and pace of a thriller' Daily Telegraph
'A publishing phenomenon' Sunday Times
'A gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga' Daily Mail
'In the early 80s, Gregory David Roberts, an armed robber and heroin addict, escaped from an Australian prison to India, where he lived in a Bombay slum. There, he established a free health clinic and also joined the mafia, working as a money launderer, forger and street soldier. He found time to learn Hindi and Marathi, fall in love, and spend time being worked over in an Indian jail. Then, in case anyone thought he was slacking, he acted in Bollywood and fought with the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan... Amazingly, Roberts wrote Shantaram three times after prison guards trashed the first two versions. It's a profound tribute to his willpower... At once a high-kicking, eye-gouging adventure, a love saga and a savage yet tenderly lyrical fugitive vision.' Time Out
Reviews / Votes
A literary masterpiece... at once erudite and intimate, reflective and funny... it has the grit and pace of a thriller * Daily Telegraph * Powerful and original... a remarkable achievement * Sunday Telegraph * A publishing phenomenon * Sunday Times * Extraordinarily vivid... a gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga * Daily Mail * Utterly unique, absolutely audacious and wonderfully wild, Shantaram is sure to catch even the most fantastic of imaginations off guard * Elle * [A] sprawling, intelligent novel... full of vibrant characters... the exuberance of his prose is refreshing * Washington Post * Vivid, entertaining... Its visceral, cinematic descriptive beauty truly impresses * USA Today * Few stand out quite like Shantaram... nothing if not entertaining... Sometimes a big story is its own reward * New York Times * Very good... vast of vision and breadth * Time Out * It has a heartfelt, cinemascope feel... A sensational read * Publishers Weekly * [A] jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga of lives laid bare * Ireland on Sunday * A curious mixture of adventure story and travelogue... [a] vivid and compassionate panorama of the places and people he encounters * Guardian * [An] elegantly written, page-turning blockbuster... splendidly evoking an India few outsiders know * Kirkus * Shantaram is a novel of the first order, a work of extraordinary art, a thing of exceptional beauty. If someone asked me what the book was about, I would have to say everything, every thing in the world. Gregory David Roberts does for Bombay what Lawrence Durrell did for Alexandria, what Melville did for the South Seas, what Thoreau did for Walden Pond: he makes it an eternal player in the literature of the world * Pat Conroy * Shantaram has provided me with the richest reading experience to date and I don't expect anybody to unseat its all-round performance for a long time. It is seductive, powerful, complex, and blessed with a perfect voice. Like a voodoo ghost snatcher, Gregory David Roberts has captured the spirits of the likes of Henri Charriere, Rohinton Mistry, Tom Wolfe, and Mario Vargas Llosa, fused them with his own unique magic, and built the most gripping monument in print... Gregory David Roberts is a suitable giant, a dazzling guru, and a genius in full * Moses Isegawa, author of Abyssinian Chronicles and Snakepit * Shantaram is, quite simply, the Arabian Nights of the new century. Anyone who loves to read has been looking for this book all their reading life. Anyone who walks away from Shantaram untouched is either heartless or dead or both. I haven't had such a wonderful time in years * Jonathan Carroll, author of White Apples * Shantaram is dazzling. More importantly, it offers a lesson... that those we incarcerate are human beings. They deserve to be treated with dignity. Some of them, after all, may be exceptional. Some may even possess genius * Ayelet Waldman, author of Crossing the Park * A literary masterpiece... at once erudite and intimate, reflective and funny... it has the grit and pace of a thriller * Daily Telegraph * Powerful and original... a remarkable achievement * Sunday Telegraph * A publishing phenomenon * Sunday Times * Extraordinarily vivid... a gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga * Daily Mail * Utterly unique, absolutely audacious and wonderfully wild, Shantaram is sure to catch even the most fantastic of imaginations off guard * Elle * [A] sprawling, intelligent novel... full of vibrant characters... the exuberance of his prose is refreshing * Washington Post * Vivid, entertaining... Its visceral, cinematic descriptive beauty truly impresses * USA Today * Few stand out quite like Shantaram... nothing if not entertaining... Sometimes a big story is its own reward * New York Times * Very good... vast of vision and breadth * Time Out * It has a heartfelt, cinemascope feel... A sensational read * Publishers Weekly * [A] jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga of lives laid bare * Ireland on Sunday * A curious mixture of adventure story and travelogue... [a] vivid and compassionate panorama of the places and people he encounters * Guardian * [An] elegantly written, page-turning blockbuster... splendidly evoking an India few outsiders know * Kirkus *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 130 mm
Thickness: 45 mm
Weight
639 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-349-11754-6 (9780349117546)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Gregory David Roberts is an author, songwriter, composer and artist. He is best known for his novel Shantaram (which has sold over 7 million copies and been translated into 44 languages) and its sequel The Mountain Shadow. Gregory David Roberts' books have been sold in over 116 countries and Shantaram has been adapted into an Apple TV+ series. His most recent book is the inspirational The Spiritual Path.