AN ABSOLUTELY, MAGNIFICENT , MASTERPIECE!!

Words fail to describe how good this book is!! It is 43 hours long and I loved every minute. I can honestly say that there was not a moment that I was not gripped with this epic drama.

The story is set in India and is about an Australian fugitive and the friendships he makes with people in the slums, the local mafia and other foreign nationals. This book is based on
the life of the author who did all those things. It is unclear how much is fact and how much is fiction. However, I am sure that the author's experience contributes to the life-like characters and the feeling that you are in the heart of India as the story unfolds.

The book is a literary work of genius. Wonderfully written. There were so many thought-provoking moments.

The narration is brilliant and the narrator slips easily into the Hindi and Marathi. It is true that he does not express the voices of women as well, but this did not disrupt my enjoyment of this book. I believe this book took 13 years to write and you will be able to see why.

I loved it! Loved it ! Loved it!

This is a wonderful book, a masterpiece that is made up the stories of so many different characters that are all closely woven together, in a beautiful, colourful, warm, blanket. I can see why this book is an international bestseller.

This book is highly recommended! Do not be put off by the size of it, you will not be disappointed.

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42 people found this helpful

Changed my life

This book came to me at a time when I didn’t know it was what I needed. It was the most stunning, passionate, moving, vibrant, intricate and inventive story I have ever heard and it will mean a great deal to me for the rest of my life, I think. I was writing down quotes as I went and it was narrated exceptionally beautifully. I narrate audiobooks so I have extremely high expectations for how well it must be done, and for me, this felt like a masterclass, the standard of which I will aspire to reach in my own work. If you are hurting, if you have regrets, if you are soul searching or lost, or if you just bloody love India, I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. The way it intwines deep philosophical intellect and discussion into a thrilling, page turning plot without distracting, or being indulgent, but making it relevant to every move every character makes, and expanding the minds of the reader along the way, is quite astonishing. I am so glad I chose to listen to this book.

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9 people found this helpful

Inside the Bombay Mafia

Firstly hats off to Humphrey Bower what an amazing narrator breathing life into this book.

This book was a rollercoaster adventure of a chaotic life in India more specifically Bombay and the mafia that controls it.
Some of the book I feel was written and remembered in a drug infused haze, but was very philosophical.
Mr Roberts descriptions were often over the top, with more adjectives than you could cook dinner with.
There were parts of the story that were unbelievable, when he saved someones life performng CPR, he had just previously described the person as blue with rigor mortis!
Never the less it was still an excellent book. I still feel there are questions as to what happened next, and also what of his past life and family in Australia now?

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9 people found this helpful

A long journey, but worth the ride

Absolutely captivated by the first half. For me it lost its intensity once he went to Afghanistan. I think it could have been more powerful if it were more tightly edited, but still, an incredibly impressive epic with some beautiful poetry. The narration, with all the different accents, is also highly impressive.

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1 person found this helpful

Emotional, captivating n endearing read!

An excellent novel with vivid descriptions n clear chapters. Very gripping story. A real page turner.

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1 person found this helpful

Fantastic narration of some wonderful characters

Having read the gushing reviews prior to listening to this Tome of a story, I'm guessing I'm in the minority in finding any fault, but Shantaram is, for me, a book with a split personality.
The wonderful, colourful description of India and her characters, was so incredibly believable and beautiful, whilst also cruel, seedy and hard, that I fell in love with some of them (especially Prabaker) & was (almost) ready to move to the slums :) The book moved me to tears and laughter & it kept me interested, for the most part.

However, whenever Lin featured alone too heavily, it was like reading the Tales of Walter Mitty. I know it's based on Robert's own story, but I'm guessing he 'embroidered' just a tad!
Without giving too much away, the beatings were ridiculous and when you get to the end of the book & actually list his achievements, the 6 Million Dollar man or The Terminator would have had their work cut out.
Added to that, when Robert's writes of 'Love' (so many, many, many times, with so many, many, many similies) or God forbid when he writes a sex scene, it was so cringingly bad, yet, he seemed to attract the ladies like flies around a honey pot.

The saving Grace was the narration by Humphrey Bower, which made the book for me. He is so gifted in both his story telling and with his accents, that every character came to life and was memorable.

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1 person found this helpful

next level reading

loved it. life changing. one of the best books I read!!!! would definitely recommend it

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The joy of metaphors.

A long and compelling story, very entertaining. At times it had me laughing out loud, or brought tears to my eyes, or simply irritated me.

I do recommend this book, but it gets my seemingly standard warning concerning the level if sermonising. My conclusion is that authors' often have a condescending attitude towards their readers' intelligence, whereas I think that I, like most people, get the point the first time and don't need to have it spelled out every hour. The repetition just gets irritating.

The other element that got on my nerves was the constant use if needless metaphors in the writing style like the itch in the centre of your back which is just out of reach.

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very fine book

great great great book, fine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
book very interesting.

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What sheer brilliance!

I can honestly say that this is one of the most impressive books I have come across. The narrator was unflagging in his exceptional delivery. Many congrats to all concerned.

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