"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, and what Thoreau did for Walden Pond: He makes it an
eternal player in the literature of the world."
- Pat Conroy
"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 Charrière, Rohinton Mistry, Tom Wolfe, and Mario
Vargas Llosa, fused them with his own unique magic, and built the
most gripping monument in print. The land of the god Ganesh has
unchained the elephant, and with the monster running amok, I
tremble for the brave soul dreaming of writing a novel about India.
Gregory David Roberts is a suitable giant, a dazzling guru, and a
genius in full."
- Moses Isegawa, author of Abyssinian Chronicles and
Snakepit
"Shantaram is, quite simply, the 1001 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."
- Jonathan Carroll, author of White Apples
"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."
- Ayelet Waldman, author of Crossing the Park
"Utterly unique, absolutely audacious, and wonderfully wild,
Shantaram is sure to catch even the most fantastic of
imaginations off guard."
---Elle
"Shantaram had me hooked from the first sentence. [It]
is thrilling, touching, frightening...a glorious wallow of
a novel."
---Detroit Free Press
"[A] sprawling, intelligent novel.full of vibrant characters.the
exuberance of his prose is refreshing.Roberts brings us through
Bombay''s slums and opium houses, its prostitution dens and ex-pat
bars, saying, You come now. And we follow."
---The Washington Post
"Inspired storytelling."
--People
"Vivid, entertaining. Its visceral, cinematic descriptive beauty
truly impresses."
--USA Today
"Few stand out quite like Shantaram .nothing if not
entertaining. Sometimes a big story is its own best reward."
--The New York Times
"...very good...vast of vision and breadth."
--Time Out
"This massive autobiographical novel draws heavily from Roberts''
vida loca. Don''t let the size scare you away - Shantaram
is one of the most gripping tales of personal redemption you''ll
ever read."
--Giant Magazine
"This reviewer is amazed that Roberts is here to write anything.
Swallowed up by the abyss, somehow he crawled out intact..His love
for other people was his salvation.Powerful books can change our
lives. The potency of Shantaram is the joy of forgiveness.
First we must regret, then forgive. Forgiveness is a beacon in the
blackness."
--Dayton Daily News
" Shantaram is loads of colorful fun, [it] rises to
something grand in its evocations of the pungent chaos of Bombay.
"
--Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Shantaram is a true epic. It is a huge, messy,
over-the-top irresistible shaggy-dog story."
--The Seattle Times