Shantaram next chunky with reading schedule

[Janice (JG)]

Irene wrote: "I finished last night and am glad to be finished. I thought this went on just a bit too long, too many fights."

It did feel like it might never end, but I constantly felt compelled to keep going... kind of a love/hate thing. I gave it 4 stars in my review here

[Rebecca]

I think I am at the part where it's frustrating. The philosophical debate has slowed me down. I will finish but it will be a while before I do. Are people glad they read this?

[Taylor]

I've got about 200 pages left. Some parts definitely drag for me (like the philosophical stuff) but overall I am loving this book.

[Meg]

I am really enjoying it but think it could have been a few hundred pages shorter. Will you read the sequel?

[Taylor]

The overall GR rating for the sequel was not so great so I may pass. I haven't made up my mind yet though.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

This one is definitely starting to drag for me, but I will plow on and finish. It could have been edited down quite a bit. I don't think I would pick up the sequel.

[Irene]

I have no plan on reading a sequel. If this is indeed autobiographical, this author is a career criminal trying to pass himself off as a sexy, misunderstood humanitarian. I have no respect for his actions or his attitude and do not want to support this.

[Meg]

I was waiting for someone to bring this up. Are we supporting a criminal do we know his crime? Have you read any other books written by criminals/prisoners? What about tv series ( first thing that comes to mind is the OJ series)

[Irene]

Do we know his crime? Well, if this is autobiographical his crimes include: armed robbery, drug trafficking, assault and battery, prison escape, money laundering, document forgery, and maybe arms smuggling.

[Taylor]

Apparently in Australia he was known as the gentleman bank robber because he always wore a three piece suit and said please and thank you. I have no problem supporting his works because I think there's a place for redemption and forgiveness.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

I think the difference between this guy and something like the OJ series, is this guy is making all the money off his book sales, while OJ is in prison and not making money off the shows based on him. In the US there is the Son of Sam law that is supposed to keep criminals from being able to profit off their crime: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Son_of_...

It might not apply to this guy because he is not an American, or it also may be why this book is marketed as a "novel" and not a biography, even though it is based on the author's life. By saying it is a fictionalized novel the author can always come back and say "oh I made up the stuff about drug trafficking, passport forgery, arms smuggling". Especially since he seems to be killing off most of the other characters in this "novel" that are doing these things with him.

[Irene]

I also think there is a place for redemption, but so far I don't see any move to redemption in this guy. He moved from armed robbery in Australia to organized crime in Bombay. Maybe the sequel depicts some redemption, but I don't see it in this novel.

[Chelsea]

I agree Irene .. Is anyone going to be reading the sequel?

[Chelsea]

Oops - already asked! :) Although I ended up not liking Lin as a character, I will be reading the sequel to see how the story ends. But I'm not in any rush.

[Taylor]

I'm in the home stretch now. Another 80 pages to go. I do agree that the book could have used some pruning. Maybe it's my aging brain not retaining information or maybe it's because we're reading this over a two-month period but I'm struggling to remember characters and plot lines.

[Janice (JG)]

Taylor wrote: "I'm in the home stretch now. Another 80 pages to go. I do agree that the book could have used some pruning. Maybe it's my aging brain not retaining information or maybe it's because we're reading t..."

When Lin (view spoiler)[went to Afghanistan, I felt like I was reading a completely different book, and when he got back to Bombay/Mumbai everything had changed because most of his regular friends were gone... (hide spoiler)]all of which added to the disorientation for me.

[Irene]

I had a similar experience, Janice

[Meg]

There is new sequel movie called Superman 3 starring Lin. That is all I can think of!

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

I agree also, Janice. I've got two chapters to go and am looking forward to being done.

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

Finished! :-)