Shantaram

[JimmyTheMook]

Has anyone read this book ?

Trying to decide if worth ordering a copy from overseas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantaram_(novel)

[smokie36]

Great read.

[tuky]

Good Book. Shame it turns out it is not real.

[soundman]

Great read.

However, try not to take it to heart and live the same life as a few foreigners in Thailand have done to their detriment/demise.

[jonnyscot]

excellent book,,,, go ahead and order it..

[ChristopherWilliamsBKK]

Best book I've read in last 10 years

[thequietman]

Good Book. Shame it turns out it is not real.

fantastic read, a lot of it is not fiction. made me laugh, cry and applaud. however a note of caution

its very difficult to put down once you start. so beware.

i would highly advise getting a copy. how much is it going to set you back anyway ? i might sell you my copy.

[Ulysses G.]

If any book is worth ordering from Amazon, this is it.

[welsh1]

Wouldnt mind reading that one myself...Any chance you could post it onto me ..when you finished with it

[Forethat]

Good Book. Shame it turns out it is not real.

Jing jing?

What a shame, I was hoping that it WAS real.

[draggons]

Great book.

Made the mistake of lending my copy to someone and not seen it since

[SteeleJoe]

Good Book. Shame it turns out it is not real.

I have to say that greatly affected my enjoyment (at least initially) -- whereas if I'd not been told it was 100% then I would have enjoyed it more as a novel: but it seemed like such obvious bu*^+hit that I found myself frequently annoyed at the seeming Walter Mitty aspect and sometimes insulted that this guy thought people would believe him -- while unable to almost constantly question which parts were just made up and which were genuinely extraordinary truth.

Having said that, even as a novel, I found it often a bit OTT. But everyone else I know that read it (2 people), loved it...so what do I know?

[Ulysses G.]

Papillion is a similar book that was supposed to be true, but wasn't - another good story though!

[aneliane]

Don't order it, you find it second hand or new in any bookshop on Kao Sarn Rd

[lazygourmet]

Great book!

Apparently there is a movie in preparation, with Johnny Deep acting as Gregory Roberts.

Otherwise, no need to order such a best seller, you will be able to find it at any Asiabook outlets.

[aneliane]

Great book!

Apparently there is a movie in preparation, with Johnny Deep acting as Gregory Roberts.

Otherwise, no need to order such a best seller, you will be able to find it at any Asiabook outlets.

It has been "in preparation" for years, Johnny Depp BOUGHT the rights because he likes the story and met Greg roberts, it has never been said he would be acting in it.

Your link actually says the movie will be release in 2007

[lazygourmet]

Great book!

Apparently there is a movie in preparation, with Johnny Deep acting as Gregory Roberts.

Otherwise, no need to order such a best seller, you will be able to find it at any Asiabook outlets.

It has been "in preparation" for years, Johnny Depp BOUGHT the rights because he likes the story and met Greg roberts, it has never been said he would be acting in it.

Your link actually says the movie will be release in 2007

Warner Bros BOUGHT the rights forwarding a $2 million bid primarily due to Johnny Deep's Infinitum Nihil Production company...

Now, as you didn't post any link... I'll will refrain myself to do so: "google" is your friend...

[SteeleJoe]

Papillion is a similar book that was supposed to be true, but wasn't - another good story though!

True (welll, kind of similar in some respects). But I first read Papillon when I was 10 and I was more credulous at that age and not as prone to be turned off by OTT content nor have as much difficulty suspending disbelief. Also I don't recall Papillion (the character) being so idealized (so perfectly uber macho while ultra sensitive etc) nor the other characters or settings being so romanticized.

But, like I say, it seems most people love the book. (And such things are of course subjective and it matters not to me that many people enjoyed it more than I.)

[bina]

bought here in israel at our local bookstore, one of those three for the price of two sales.... enjoyed it... a good read when u dont want to think too much... some of the writing style is a bit OTT.. lots of alliteration like teachers teachu in writing classes, some gooey 'women's magazine' descriptions of people and things (forest green eyes with depths of the ocean hidden blablabla) but fun... u can pick it up and put it down without loosing the train of action since it seems to be written in spurts of time frame action sets... like mini short stories linked together...

didnt think guys would like the book, its a bit 'womens romance thriller-ey'... and the protaganist is a bit 'three musketeer' type...

bina

israel

[tim armstrong]

The story line of this one sounds a bit like one I just read called 3 Cups of Tea - by Greg Mortensen. He was a mountaineer who failed to climb K2, then stumbled exhausted into a village in Pakistan, was rescued by the locals, and ended up building schools all over northern Pakistan and Afghanistan. Over the past 10 years he has built 50 schools and received $USD 29 million in donations to his NGO, including $100,000 from President Obama. However, a recent US sixty minutes show exposed much of his original story as a fraud. The book is still a good read, but I'm now sorry I chose to find out more about this guy.

[SteeleJoe]

... some of the writing style is a bit OTT.. lots of alliteration like teachers teachu in writing classes, some gooey 'women's magazine' descriptions of people and things (forest green eyes with depths of the ocean hidden blablabla) but fun... its a bit 'womens romance thriller-ey'... and the protaganist is a bit 'three musketeer' type...

That's exactly how I saw it. That put me off more than the dubious veracity of the extraordinary events in the story (after all I know quite well that there are extraordinary people in the world and/or people who have led extraordinary lives); it wasn't entirely that the protagonist did all the stuff he allegedly did -- though that was not always easy to buy -- but that he (and seemingly everyone else around him) did it all while being so ideal in so many ways.

[aneliane]

Great book!

Apparently there is a movie in preparation, with Johnny Deep acting as Gregory Roberts.

Otherwise, no need to order such a best seller, you will be able to find it at any Asiabook outlets.

It has been "in preparation" for years, Johnny Depp BOUGHT the rights because he likes the story and met Greg roberts, it has never been said he would be acting in it.

Your link actually says the movie will be release in 2007

Warner Bros BOUGHT the rights forwarding a $2 million bid primarily due to Johnny Deep's Infinitum Nihil Production company...

Now, as you didn't post any link... I'll will refrain myself to do so: "google" is your friend...

Yeah right, everyone hold your breath, shataram is coming on your screens soon (soon meaning in the next 10 years)

[carmine]

Papillion is a similar book that was supposed to be true, but wasn't - another good story though!

These two books a both great reads. As someone else said, once started very difficult to put.

Howver i did read somewhere that Shantaram was more "factional" than pure fiction. I'm sure i heard Gregory David Roberts (think thats his name) saying something to this effect. Perhaps there were also aspects of Papillon where the same could be said to be true?

If anyone could shed some light on this i'd be interested.

[welsh1]

Just downloaded Audio book . Duma Keys by.Stephen king very good book ...and even better having some one to read it for you

[SteeleJoe]

Papillion is a similar book that was supposed to be true, but wasn't - another good story though!

These two books a both great reads. As someone else said, once started very difficult to put.

Howver i did read somewhere that Shantaram was more "factional" than pure fiction. I'm sure i heard Gregory David Roberts (think thats his name) saying something to this effect. Perhaps there were also aspects of Papillon where the same could be said to be true?

If anyone could shed some light on this i'd be interested.

Both contain some fact. Maybe a lot. I don't think there's anyway to ascertain how much.

Henri "Papillion" Charrière (I have the boo right on my shelf and can copy the name!)) was a convicted French criminal of the era and almost certainly had some of the experiences in the book and/or knew people who did. But the publisher of that book went on record as saying it was originally submitted as a novel.

"Shantaram" is published as a novel (not nonfiction) and its author has supposedly said it's largely fiction but based on some true aspects of his life.