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Shantaram

Shantaram, Book 1

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Shantaram

By: Gregory David Roberts
Narrated by: Humphrey Bower
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About this listen

 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©2003 Gregory David Roberts Action & Adventure Genre Fiction International Mystery & Crime Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Psychological Thriller & Suspense

Critic Reviews

A literary masterpiece... at once erudite and intimate, reflective and funny... it has the grit and pace of a thriller
Powerful and original... a remarkable achievement
A publishing phenomenon
Extraordinarily vivid... a gigantic, jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga
Utterly unique, absolutely audacious and wonderfully wild, Shantaram is sure to catch even the most fantastic of imaginations off guard
[A] sprawling, intelligent novel... full of vibrant characters... the exuberance of his prose is refreshing
Vivid, entertaining... Its visceral, cinematic descriptive beauty truly impresses
Few stand out quite like Shantaram... nothing if not entertaining... Sometimes a big story is its own reward
Very good... vast of vision and breadth
It has a heartfelt, cinemascope feel... A sensational read
[A] jaw-dropping, grittily authentic saga of lives laid bare
A curious mixture of adventure story and travelogue... [a] vivid and compassionate panorama of the places and people he encounters
[An] elegantly written, page-turning blockbuster... splendidly evoking an India few outsiders know
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
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
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
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
All stars
Most relevant
Not only is the story captivating and addictive, but the performance is the best I have listened to. I genuinely feel that I've gained more listening to this book than I would have had reading it myself. Hearing the characters and their accents come to life genuinely enriched the experience that is Shantaram.

Simply put, as much as I'd say the story is a MUST read the Shantaram audiobook read by Humphrey Bower is a MUST listen!!!!

A MUST for any audiobook library.

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Here's evidence that you can break literary rules and still succeed. The sheer originality and authenticity (?) of the story drives this compelling, brilliant, over-blown, extraordinary, over-written, baroque epic along. I was gripped and addicted and listened, laughed and cried through the whole 40+ freaking hours.

Flawed and fabulous

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loved the book so many things happened to the main character exciting story hard to put down

great book

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Great tale, loved the characters.
Narration really was the icing on the cake - what an amazing job Humphrey bowers did.

Loved every minute!

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I was captivated by this story which took me into Shantaram's world in Bombay with its colour and intrigue. I was engrossed right to the end. Beautifully read.

great read

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