false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172886592m/228378.jpg 33600 21 "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." So begins this epic, mesmerizing first novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. Shantaram is narrated by Lin, an escaped convict with a false passport who flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of a city where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter Bombay'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 lovefor India at its heart. Based on the life of the author, it is by any measure the debut of an extraordinary voice in literature. 3174890 2004 Shantaram total:6017|5:3085|4:1872|3:740|2:226|1:95| 6017 25675 9982 1657 3 24 false false Wed Mar 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Mar 02 02:06:05 -0800 2008 Sun Apr 13 02:30:23 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 15 false false Thu Jan 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Apr 08 12:56:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 20 11:29:31 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 7 false false Tue Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 12 20:38:54 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 22:03:01 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 8 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Tue Jul 24 00:03:16 -0700 2007 Wed Dec 19 03:18:20 -0800 2007
I had been told that this was a philosophically profound book. And it was; except for the passage...more...]]> 5 11 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Jun 14 08:35:00 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 14 08:43:19 -0700 2008
This book is over 900 pages, so I found it a little challenging to start...more...]]> 5 11 false false Sat Jan 12 20:21:26 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 09:55:12 -0800 2008
"The world an...more...]]> 0 9 false false Thu Dec 20 15:25:39 -0800 2007 Mon Jan 07 13:46:22 -0800 2008
Of course, I knew that I could have defeated the stoned, terrifying swordsman with just my fists. . . .

Fortunately, my friends had given me a gigantic first-aid kit before I left, so I had enough medicine to cure the scores of burn victims. . . .

T...more...]]> 4 6 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 05 11:35:45 -0700 2007 Tue Dec 04 13:11:17 -0800 2007
"Civilization, after all, is defined by what we forbid, more than what we permit."

"The worst thing about corruption as a s...more...]]> 1 7 false false Tue Jan 29 13:24:02 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 29 13:28:40 -0800 2008
At one point - during a scene when the narrator is looking at a river - he ACTUALLY writes: 'I was thinking of ...more...]]> 1 5 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jan 13 16:43:11 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 24 11:07:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 8 false false Tue Sep 16 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 15:58:09 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 04 12:53:27 -0800 2008 Shantaram when they said that it is "nothing if not entertaining." The problem is trying to find what else it is. Nine hundred pages of page-turning narrative and I wonder if I have gained anything by it. The characters lack fullness and complexity, the narrator i...more...]]> 2 8 false false Thu Jul 31 09:52:47 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 12:06:33 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 3 false false Fri Jul 11 18:07:29 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 24 18:16:48 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Aug 23 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 07 09:43:41 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 26 19:09:53 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 3 false false Sat Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 31 23:42:18 -0700 2008 Mon Aug 25 20:56:07 -0700 2008
However, I've had to put this one down for a bi...more...]]> 5 3 false false Wed Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Jul 10 16:15:31 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 10 06:47:17 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Jul 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 21:34:59 -0700 2008 Wed Jul 09 21:58:07 -0700 2008
It's true that I was a bit annoyed at first, because Roberts uses...more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 14:43:21 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 26 14:52:33 -0800 2008
Yes, it's a little purple and th...more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 12 08:04:17 -0800 2008 Tue Feb 19 18:35:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 01 04:15:33 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 04 04:58:43 -0700 2007
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