Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

I may be really late to the game with this 5 Heart Rating as it seems pretty much everyone has already read this amazing piece of work. Shantaram was written by Gregory David Roberts in 2003 but for some reason I never heard of it until a couple years ago. I see people recommending it on social media all the time. When someone posts to Facebook asking for book recommendations, 100% of the time Shantaram is suggested more than once. Both of my kids are reading it. Which says a lot because my son has only read one book in his entire life (twice) — The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho. I have “read” it through once on Audible and can’t wait for the movie version starring Johnny Depp. (Apparently the movie was put on hold back in 2008.)

This is probably the most dimensional book I have ever read. It’s one I highly recommend listening to because the Audible version, narrated by Humphrey Bower is simply brilliant! How he pulls off so many characters’ voices is mind-blowing to me. I’m getting ready to listen to it again. I say I’m getting ready because I feel I need to warm up to the idea. It’s an intense book. And it is very long! Very, very long. 43 hours long on Audible. That’s 10 hours longer than the next longest Audible book I’ve listened to. If you get a hardcopy of the book you’re looking at nearly 1000 pages. I’m pretty sure the book weighs nearly 2 lbs. (One more reason Audible got a 5 Heart Rating)

“It took me a long time and most of the world to learn what I know about love and fate and the choices we make, but the heart of it came to me in an instant, while I was chained to a wall and being tortured.”

That’s how the book starts. Enjoy. You’re in for an incredible journey set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. This was Roberts’ first novel!

Here’s a 5 minute sample on Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Fiction/Shantaram-Audiobook/B00GT1240I/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srImg?qid=1509812428&sr=1-1